


Further Stories in Designation: Miracle (Volume Two)

by umisabaku



Series: Designation: Miracle [8]
Category: Haikyuu!!, Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-08-29 08:33:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 23,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8482666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/umisabaku/pseuds/umisabaku
Summary: Short stories set in the Designation: Miracle universe continue! Every now and then I write short fic at the request of kind people over on tumblr. (umisabaku.tumblr.com) If you ever have a prompt request, feel free to drop something in my ask box there and I'll try and write you something! Not always quite what people ask for, but I do always try to write something.These stories can range anywhere between fluff/pure crack to serious/pain/angst, depending on, which is why it's not rated. I'll try and remember to update tags accordingly, but please be warned that the content shifts. As always, comments and kudos make me incredibly happy, and thank you so much for reading!





	1. Support

**Author's Note:**

> Short stories set in the Designation: Miracle universe continue! Every now and then I write short fic at the request of kind people over on tumblr. (umisabaku.tumblr.com) If you ever have a prompt request, feel free to drop something in my ask box there and I'll try and write you something! Not always quite what people ask for, but I do always try to write something.
> 
> These stories can range anywhere between fluff/pure crack to serious/pain/angst, depending on, which is why it's not rated. I'll try and remember to update tags accordingly, but please be warned that the content shifts. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos make me incredibly happy, and thank you so much for reading!

“What are we doing here again?” Kise whines. This is not the first time he has whined about being here, and Midorima sort of resents this. It’s not like any of them _wants_ to be here, except maybe Kuroko, but at least everyone else isn’t tactless as to keep bringing it up. Even Murasakibara has kept quiet (granted, he has also been heavily bribed with snacks, and is still silently working through his pile.)

“We are here to support Hinata,” Akashi replies coolly, in that voice of his that cuts off all further mutinous impulses. “After everything he did for us, the least we can do is support him in a game.”

Although the reminder that they might all be locked away in a military prison if not for Hinata is enough to send a pang of guilt down every Miracle present, it doesn’t quite stop Kise from pointing out, “I’m pretty sure Hinatacchi didn’t actually want us here.”

Considering Hinata’s first words at the sight of them were, “GAH! What are you guys doing here? Go away!” that was not an unfair deduction on Kise’s part.

“He is a member of our Generation,” Akashi says firmly. “And we are going to support him.”

“Hmph,” Kise says, leaning back. “Volleyball is a boring sport, I’ve always thought so.” Kise actually tried out a lot of different sports when he was on base, so Midorima figures if anyone would know it would be him.

Still. “Be quiet, you fool. We’re here as guests.” The high school basketball world has grown accustomed to their appearance, but here in a crowd of volleyball enthusiasts they’re drawing quiet a lot of stares. And Midorima thinks it _is_ a bit crass to insult the sport while sitting in the volleyball stands.

Kise sulks but settles in to watch the game.

*

“Where’s Sacchin?” Murasakibara asks.

“Making friends,” Aomine points to where Momoi stands real close to Karasuno’s tiny manager and an intimidating blonde woman. Momoi had taken one look at the other women and declared they would be her new best friends.

Murasakibara eyes the volleyball court and decides that he kind of likes the game. They don’t have to move around so much. If Araki and Himuro wouldn’t throw a fit, he’d probably be interested in switching sports.

But then he sees Hinata running around and thinks, then again, maybe not.

*

“He’s gotten a lot better at reacting on instinct,” Aomine drawls, “He never put in that much effort when we were combat training.”

This is true, Akashi thinks. It had been a source of much frustration for him and Gold—the slow way Black and Orange took to training. As Hinata moves to block a ball, Akashi thinks about just how much effort he would have put in to make that an instinctive reaction. It was more effort than Orange had put in to learn hand to hand combat.

 “He must have been properly motivated,” Akashi says.

*

“Do you think he forgets sometimes?” Kise asks after Hinata jumps in the air. “I mean, obviously not, but it’s gotta be difficult to remember not to, you know, _jump_ when he’s jumping.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Midorima says hotly. “He’s probably not thinking about his power at all.” Midorima, more than the rest of them, had to defend against accusations of cheating during a game. People who didn’t know about the glowing often assumed he was using his powers to get the ball in.

“It’s different,” Aomine says. “I bet it is hard. For him. I bet he always has to remember not to fly.”

That’s what it was like for him. Running was _who he was._ It was second nature, like breathing. It took all his control sometimes to suppress that instinct, and Orange had been the same way about flying.

Watching Hinata jump you wouldn’t be able to tell. He looks just as happy as he did when he was flying.

*

“They’re a good team,” Midorima remarks. “He fits in well with them.”

Yes, Kuroko thinks. He does. He’d noticed that when he visited Hinata awhile back. Hinata fits in with Karasuno team, more comfortably then he ever did when they were trained as a combat unit. It’s like this was the life he was meant for, even if it hadn’t been the one he’d been designed for.

Good, Kuroko thinks. He’s glad.


	2. Educating Hinata

“Kenma, Kenma, I have a very important question.”

Kenma feels, logically, there is no reason why Hinata’s phone call should cause any particular alarm, and there’s really no reason why _this_ opening statement should make the hair on the back of his neck rise, and yet.

“OK.”

“Have you had sex with Kuroo yet?”

Kenma hangs up on him.

*

“Kenma! This is important!!”

Really, really, really he should not have picked up the phone again, but it’s _Hinata_ and for some reason, Kenma has always had a hard time ignoring Hinata.

“Ugh, Shouyou, if you just went to talk about your sex life with Kageyama, can we just not? And, say we did?”

“But that’s just it! I haven’t had sex yet and I have questions.”

Oh god. “The internet,” Kenma says hastily. “Google. The internet is an amazing resource.”

“Kenma—”

“It’s not all skeevy stuff either. There’s encyclopedias online, and very informative health websites.”

“ _Kenma,”_ Hinata whines. “They’re all technical and stuff. You know I can’t understand any of that!”

Unfortunately, true. And that also meant Hinata had at least _tried_ online, which was a true testament to the boy’s desperation. The guilt is a creeping, gnawing thing that is just _unfair_ really, because Kenma’s sure he’d have no problem refusing, oh, _Lev_ for instance, if Lev were calling with important sex questions.

“I’m sure there’s someone better to ask,” Kenma says, getting a tad desperate now. “Your captain! I bet your captain would be an excellent person to ask.”

Somewhere in Miyagi, a cold shudder ran through Sawamura Daichi’s body, without him knowing why.

“Kenma! You are the closest thing I have to a big brother! This is your responsibility! TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!”

Kenma hangs up again.

It’s mostly just an instinctive response, and he calls back immediately after, but he had been briefly tempted to fling his phone in the toilet.

*

“Really?” Hinata says.

“Yes,” Kenma says.

“ _Really_? Are you sure?”

“You can look it up yourself,” Kenma say through gritted teeth.

“No, I believe you. _Weird._ That doesn’t sound enjoyable at all.”

Kenma is not touching _that_ statement with a ten foot pole.

“Hmm,” Hinata says. “Wow, OK. Thanks, Kenma!”

“Please don’t ever speak of this again,” Kenma begs.

“Ha ha, Kenma, you’re hilarious!” Hinata hangs up, leaving Kenma this ominous foreboding that this conversation was not a one time thing.


	3. Shorts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone on tumblr requested the word "shorts" as a prompt for D: M and this is what I came up with =)

“Oh my God, I really should have gotten into volleyball when I was younger, this is amazing.”

There are so many places to look, Takao doesn’t even know where to start. (He’s aware that his boyfriend is standing three feet away, and really he shouldn’t be looking anywhere, but that is not the point. The point is that there are really hot boys wearing incredibly short shorts _everywhere,_ and really, Takao has never felt so cheated by his decision to play basketball.)

“Tobio, how can you concentrate during a game?”

“What?” Kageyama grunts.

“The shorts! The _shorts!_ ”

Kageyama looks at him like he’s crazy. “I’m always concentrating on volleyball.”

Takao shakes his head. He’d forgotten about Kageyama’s “Volleyball is Life” tendencies, but _man,_ talk about skewed priorities.

“Oi! Midorima! Are you playing or not?” Hinata shouts.

“Do you know what this sport does to fingers?” Midorima demands. “I am not partaking in any activity that requires such brute force to block—”

“Fine, fine!” Hinata says, rolling his eyes. Takao suspects Hinata is actually rather pleased the other Miracles has no interest in encroaching on his sport.

“Shin-chan, please, please, _please_ do me a favor and wear a volleyball uniform,” Takao pleads. “I feel like I could die happy if I see you in those shorts just once.”

“Shut up, Takao!” Midorima sputters, growing a satisfying shade of red.

“Man, I don’t know how gay men could survive playing this game; some of these guys have legs for _days_ ,” Takao sighs at the sidelines as their practice game starts.

“It, uhh, can be distracting,” the freckled boy standing next to him says quietly, and then he coughs, “I mean. You know. You get used to it.”

Takao smirks, because he could _definitely_ get used to this. Maybe he can convince Kageyama to lend him a spare uniform.


	4. Group Photo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a request for "group photo" so I wrote this scene which is something I've wanted to write for awhile :)

Hinata finds the group photo under a pile of books and a stack of old homework sheets while he’s studying at Kageyama’s.  
  
It is the single most glorious thing he has ever seen.

He spends a full minute just staring at it with increasing amounts of glee.

“Oi, Hinata, my mom wants to know if—” Kageyama comes into the room and then freezes as Hinata looks at him in rapturous joy.

“ _Kageyama,_ ” Hinata says, waving the photo at him, “Why didn’t you tell me, this is amaz—”

Kageyama is already pouncing on him. “Give that back, Dumbass!”

“No, no, we need to talk about this,” Hinata says, trying to fend off Kageyama’s attacks and keep the photo out of reach.

“DELETE IT FROM YOUR MEMORY,” Kageyama demands as Hinata hops out of reach again. “YOU SAW NOTHING.”

“Never! Never, I’m going to remember this forever, it is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Kageyama, Kageyama, _do you still have the shirt_?”

“No, I BURNED it!” Kageyama says, finally tackling Hinata to the floor and grabbing the photo out of Hinata’s hands. Hinata is afraid Kageyama’s going to destroy the photo right then and there but instead the other boy shoves it down his pants (like _that_ would stop Hinata from retrieving it later).

“I bet you didn’t,” Hinata says gleefully, “I bet you totally still have that shirt, you kept that photo—”

“Because they’re—they’re my friends, OK?” Kageyama snaps.

“Not according to the photo!” Hinata says. “According to the photo, you’re all in the same club. The Miracle Boyfriends Club.  Because you’re my BOYFRIEND and you LOVE me—”

“Shut up, Dumbass!”

“Yamayama-kun, no need to be shy,” Hinata croons. “You loooove me, you think I’m the best, you have an orange shirt to commemorate your feelings for me—”

Kageyama lurches forward and Hinata braces himself for impact but instead, Kageyama pulls him towards him and aggressively kisses him—a silencing tactic Hinata is more than willing to respond to with great enthusiasm.

When Kageyama pulls away he just says, “Idiot.”

Hinata grins, hearing the, _Of course, I love you_ , that Kageyama isn’t saying. “Hey, hey, do the others know? I need to call Tetsuya right now, this is seriously the best thing ever—”

“Don’t you dare!” Kageyama shouts, rejuvenating his efforts in tackling Hinata and keeping him in place.


	5. Life Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A kind anonymous person asked for Masaomi confronting Youji about stealing his credit cards, but I wrote this instead, mostly because I thought it would make hilarious context for the events in "Love Doesn't Discriminate." It's set a little after Masaomi first adopts Akashi.

“Masaomi-san, I believe you may have been the victim of credit card fraud.”

“Ah ah, Seijuurou, what did I say?”

Akashi doesn’t let his annoyance show.

(“In the eyes of the law I am not your guardian but your father. It’s a trite and antiquated title to express forced familial bonds we really should have moved past as a society by now, but it’s important to keep up appearances for the lesser folk.”

Akashi has an instinctive balking at familial bonds but recognizes the need to keep up appearances.)

“I believe you may have been the victim of credit card fraud, _Father._ ”

“Very good. And also, impossible. My cybersecurity is the best in the world.”

Akashi grudgingly admits this must be true, because _Momoi_ has said as much, and it meant something different entirely when a Pink Two is impressed with your cybersecurity.

“Are you telling me that you _did_ purchase over 1 million yen worth of habitation supplies for refugees in Kenya?”

“Oh, Youji,” Masaomi waves this aside. “That’s a Youji purchase. I was wondering where that credit card went.”

By “Youji” Akashi knows Masaomi means Sergeant Kasamatsu, but he still feels like he’s missing some key points. “Sergeant Kasamatsu has stolen one of your credit cards?”

“He does that. I’d just give him one in his name but I think he likes the challenge of stealing it himself. The man is a surprisingly talented pickpocket.”

Akashi still feels like he’s missing something, and the sheer audacity of the situation offends him on a fundamental level. “He steals your credit card and you are _fine_ with that?”

“Sure,” Masaomi shrugs. “Seijuurou, when you’re as rich as we are, there are only two kinds of poor people.”

“…OK,” Akashi says, with the absolute certainty that whatever Masaomi was about to say was going to be incredibly offensive to poor people.

“There’s the kind who expect you to pay for everything and the kind who, because of ‘pride’—” (Masaomi dramatically emphasizes his finger quotations) “—won’t let you pay for anything. Those kind are the worst.”

“Alright,” Akashi says slowly. “So Sergeant Kasamatsu is the first kind?”            

“No, Youji is the third kind.”

“You _just_ said there were only two kinds—”

“Whenever anyone says there are only two kinds of people there is _always_ a secret third kind. Remember that, Seijuurou.”

Akashi resists the urge to sigh. Masaomi had been delivering a lot of random life lessons and “things to remember” ever since he moved in and Akashi is beginning to think he’s just making them up as he goes along.

“The third kind is very rare. They genuinely don’t care one way or another if you have money so it’s OK when they need to use it.”

Randomly spending millions of other people’s money didn’t _sound_ like someone who doesn’t care about their friend’s wealth, but Akashi figures that what Masaomi really means is that the _real_ “third kind” is the person you don’t _care_ if they spend your money.

Which Akashi _also_ has a hard time understanding. He can’t imagine ever being in the position where he would spend a tremendous amount of money on someone _else._

“Also, as a warning, if Youji ever playfully grabs your ass, he is probably stealing your wallet.”

Akashi coughs and in a slightly strangled voice says, “Sergeant Kasamatsu has not, to the best of my knowledge, ever attempted to grab my posterior.”

“Well be on the alert if he does. Man definitely knows how to pick a pocket.”

“…Right. I will…remember that.”


	6. Pop Culture

_“Are you watching pornography?!”_

“What?” Takao says, looking up in confusion, “No, I’m watching the ‘Wrecking Ball’ music video.” At Midorima’s bright red face and his refusal to look at Takao’s computer screen, Takao feels like ordinarily he would find this situation hilarious, except he’s too offended. “You thought I was watching porn with my mom and little sister in the next room? Without locking the door? What kind of amateur do you think I am?”

“Well—” ****

“And furthermore, you thought I was watching porn featuring _women_? Shin-chan, do you _not_ understand how gay I am? Because if _that’s_ the case, I am doing something seriously wrong as your boyfriend.”

“ _Fine,_ I—”

“No, no, I can’t let this one go; you thought I was watching _Miley Cyrus_ related porn, like, come on man, you should know my taste better than that—”

“I am sorry to have offended your dignity,” Midorima says, rolling his eyes and still not looking at Takao’s computer.

“On the _other_ hand,” Takao says, brightening, “If you ever _do_ want to watch porn, I have a pretty good collection—”

“Shut up, Takao.”

 

Bonus:

“I told you, it’s not porn, she’s twerking—”

“I don’t care what she’s doing, do we really have to be watching this right now?”

“Look, I’m trying to culturally educate here, Shin-chan, you’re seriously behind the times, if you don’t even know what twerking is—”

“Quit saying that word. That is not a word.”

“It is _too_ a word, and this only proves why you need me to educate you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone on tumblr prompted "Miley Cyrus" and then someone else prompted "twerking" and uh, this is what I wrote?


	7. Babies

“Oh, perfect timing,” Kasamatsu says when Kise walks in. He adjusts the baby currently screaming in his arms and says, “Can you hold him for—”

“Ah ha ha, nope,” Kise says, and immediately walks out again.

*

“Shin-chan, the baby isn’t going to attack you,” Takao says, jostling his neighbor’s daughter so she giggles.

Midorima, who is currently sitting as far as humanly possible and could still be considered as being in the same room says curtly, “I know that.”

“So…you could come closer.”

“No, thank you, I am quite alright where I am.”

*

“Ooh, he’s so cute,” Momoi gushes over the youngest Imayoshi cousin.

“Do you want to hold him?” Sayuri asks.

“Oh, oooh, no, that’s OK,” Momoi backs away slightly, “Noooo, I’m good with just looking.”

“Where’d Daiki go?” Michiru asks.

Shouichi points, “He went off running in a bright blue flash of cowardice as soon as he saw the baby.”

*

“Pick it up.”

“ _You_ pick it up,” Akashi snaps.

“I’m not picking it up, I’m wearing Armani,” Masaomi says. “Do you know how messy babies are? It comes out of both ends.”

“You are the adult, she left the baby to you,” Akashi says.

“No, no, you are infinitely more responsible than I am, all our employees know that, she clearly left the baby to you.”

“You have far more experience with this sort of matter,” Akashi says.

“I most certainly do not. When Youji started spawning I avoided his house like the plague. You can ask him, he will vouch for my inexperience.”

The baby screams again and both Akashi men look down at the stroller.

“I think your lawyer will be in soon,” Akashi says.

“Oh, thank God, _he_ can pick up the baby.”

*

“Kuroko… are you _afraid_ of the baby?” Kagami asks incredulously as he holds the newest Fujimaki grandchild.

“No,” Kuroko says, sounding a tad defensive. “Babies are just…very small.”

“You carry that dog around everywhere.”

“Dogs are a lot sturdier than babies,” Kuroko replies. “And anyway, babies are…very strange.”

“ _Strange?_ ” Kagami repeats.

“I like them in theory, but we all had a very difficult time understanding what babies even are,” Kuroko explains. “It was very horrifying to learn where they come from. We did not believe the JSDF doctors when they first explained it. Although, Momoi-san had apparently known, and I do believe she was more horrified than the rest of us.”

That….makes a sort of amount of sense, in a tragic sort of way. “Would you like to hold him?”

“I would rather not,” Kuroko politely declines. “At least…not today. Perhaps later, I will try.”

*

Bonus:

“Oh, dear God, where did those come from?”

Murasakibara just shrugs. “A lady needed to run back into the store. She recognized me from the news so she asked if I could watch them.”

“Up! I wanna walk again!” the little girl currently sitting on Murasakibara’s shoulders tugs on his hair like a pair of reins; Murasakibara obliges by standing up (“ _Weeee!_ ” shouts the girl) and jostling the baby he’s currently holding. The baby is currently sucking on a maiubo.

“Does Murochin want to hold one?”

“No, no, dear God, no,” Himuro backs away, horrified by the suggestion. “I’m going to be…over there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone prompted the word "babies" and this was too cute an idea to resist. Also,   
> [here](http://umisabaku.tumblr.com/post/153414477239/alright-thanks-for-asking-friends-i-am-now-happy) is some bonus headcanons on why Murasakibara is so good with children.


	8. Babies: Coda

“He’s _good_ with children, Taiga, can you believe that?”

“Well, no, actually—”

“And not just _good_ with them, it’s _adorable._ It does weird squishy things to my non-existent womb.”

“…OK, that’s a weird image, but OK…”

“Oh God, what am I going to do?” Himuro moans and hides his face in his hands. “What if he wants kids someday? What am I supposed to do then?”  
  
“Er,” Kagami starts, but does not finish. He once overheard his brother tell a guy he was dating, “Oh God, no, I would never adopt. The only reason I would ever consider it is so that I could drive in the carpool lane.”

(The relationship had not lasted long.)

“I’m going to have to adopt,” Himuro marvels.

“You don’t _have_ to,” Kagami says.

“No, you don’t understand. It was _super_ adorable. And kind of sexy, in a way I was not expecting. I had all kinds of domestic related fantasies ever since. I kinda want to see him in an apron now.”

“Please stop talking,” Kagami begs. “I really don’t need that image the next time we play basketball.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked for future fic with the Miracles and their children, but I am sorta trying to deliberately avoid writing too far into the future in this universe (for now) so I wrote this short tiny scene instead.


	9. Ex

You know, you don’t have to be nervous,” Takao remarks, torn between being amused and being irritated by the way Yamamoto keeps looking over his shoulder and edging away from Takao. “It’s not like Shin-chan is the kind of guy who freaks out just because his boyfriend is talking to another guy. I couldn’t date a guy like that, if he was—”

“I know, I know,” Yamamoto grimaces. “I can’t help it—he’s just always been kind of _intense_ , you know?”

“ _Shin-chan?_ ” Takao exclaims. Because, OK, yes, on the court the guy can be scary intense, but he also regularly brings stuffed animals and puppets to class.

“Look, you may not have noticed, but he tends to _glare_ at other people. You know, specifically at the other people who talk to you.”

Takao feels like this is probably something he would have noticed.

“He _always_ did it,” Yamamoto insists, when Takao’s doubt becomes evident through his judgey silence. “Even when you guys weren’t dating and were just doing that weird co-dependent basketball thing, he would glare, and it sorta made me fear for my life.”

“OK, you’re just being _ridiculously_ stupid,” Takao says, growing defensive and angry at the implication that Midorima would hurt anyone at Shutoku. He spots his boyfriend out of the corner of his eye and waves him over, “Oi! Shin-chan!”

Yamamoto tenses and Midorima looks mildly like a cat who has just stepped in something sticky.

“Tell Yamamoto you’re not going to kill him just because he used to stick his tongue in my mouth before I knew you.”

Yamamoto’s eyes bulge, and he looks a bit like he’s dying, and Midorima eyes the Kendo club member with a very imperious stare. “I would not kill him for just that reason, no.”

Takao opens his mouth to say, “There, see” but shuts it when he realizes there was certain emphasis on certain syllables of that sentence that leads him to believe maybe Yamamoto isn’t _completely_ ridiculous in his paranoia.

“Glad we got that settled!” he says instead, looping his arm through Midorima’s and pulling him away, “See ya, Yamamoto!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt was-- how would Midorima react to meeting one of Takao's ex-boyfriends. The rest of Midorima's sentence is: "...but if you had hurt him, we would be having a very different conversation..."


	10. Kasamatsu and Masaomi

“HI!”

Kasamatsu spits out the water he’s currently drinking and coughs, nearly choking, startled by the sudden appearance of the grown man who is now looking at him with a distinct “Target Acquired” expression.

“You’re Youji’s kid, right? What am I saying, of course you are, you look just like him.”

“Er, right,” Kasamatsu says. He’s not sure what the sudden appearance of Akashi Masaomi means, but it really can’t be anything good.

“You were the one who orchestrated the rescue mission, yeah?” He says it like it’s a question, but his eyes are razor-sharp, with a focused intensity that makes it clear he’s not actually doubting the answer.

“Well, I wouldn’t say _orchestrated_ ,” Kasamatsu replies awkwardly. “Momoi did most of the work, and once the JSDF were involved, my dad and Sergeant Sakurai did all the coordination—”

“Let me tell you something, kid, you will never get far in life if you don’t take credit for your work. Being humble will only ensure that someone _else_ takes credit for your work, and then you’re just a loser.”

“I see. Er. Thanks.” The resemblance to Akashi Seijuurou is a little uncanny. Kasamatsu had always thought most Akashi’s hang-ups could be explained by Teiko, but he’s beginning to realize this man might also explain a lot of the Miracle’s warped values in life.

“It was nicely done,” Masaomi continues. “I was following the completely wrong lead, and the JSDF weren’t going to be able to act, not without certainties. And if those kids had gone on their own, well, it could have been a bloodbath. You connected the dots. That was impressive.”

Kasamatsu keeps quiet because he doesn’t want to be lectured on being humble again. But it doesn’t feel right, getting praise for this. He’d been safe at home while Kise risked his life—while his _father_ had risked his life. And it hadn’t gone smoothly—Furihata Kouki was still in Hawaii recovering from a _gunshot_ wound and Akashi hadn’t escaped unscathed either.

Which, now that he thought about it… “Shouldn’t you be with Akashi right now? Isn’t he still recovering?”

“What am I supposed to do, hold his hand?” Masaomi asks incredulously. “Weep at his bedside? That would just be torture for both of us. I checked on him, he’s fine. Now, let’s talk about you.”

Kasamatsu feels a little bit like a very large predatory animal has just spotted him.

“What are your plans after high school? College? Job?”

“College,” Kasamatsu replies warily.

“Good, good. And after that? Do you have career goals? Surely you’re not going to be military.”

“Er. I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“Good, that’s good. How’d you like an internship at Akashi Industries? We have a very industrious program for students—”

“Hey! Get away from my kid!”

“Gah!” Masaomi says, startling and looking like a man who has just been caught stealing cookies.

Kasamatsu’s dad storms up, bristling. “What are you doing here, Masa-chan?”

_Masa-chan?_

“Nothing! I’m just having a nice conversation with Yuki-kun here.”

“ _Yukio._ You _forgot_ my son’s name?”

“In my defense, you have so many of them.”

“ _Three._ I have three kids.”

“Which is two more than you need, really, assuming you get it right the first time. Honestly, I was always surprised Hinami let you knock her up so often, I always thought she was more sensible than that—”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Masaomi. Stay the hell away from my kid.”

“I just thought he showed promise! He could have a genuine career instead of being some military grunt, ow—ow!”

Youji grabs Masaomi by the ear and starts dragging him away. “No. Bad tycoon. No son of mine is going to sell his soul like that.”

“Call me!” Masaomi mouths, flinging one of his business cards at Kasamatsu as Youji continues to drag him away.

Kasamatsu just _stares_. He’s not sure he can properly comprehend what it is he just witnessed.

_Christ._ His father is actually _friends_ with _Akashi Masaomi._ Pretty close ones, by all accounts, for him to act like that. He wonders why he never knew that before.

Then again.

Maybe it’s not all that surprising.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were some lovely asks about if Kasamatsu knew his father and Masaomi were friends.


	11. Suzuno Chiho

In the weeks immediately following his _ordeal_ (being abducted, shot) there was a pretty sharp disconnect between reality and Furihata’s experience of it. People would come up and talk to him all the time and it was increasingly hard to tell if he’d actually met them before or if they were just curious strangers who wanted to know more about his dramatic experience. In all honesty, Furihata had a hard time even remembering the faces and conversations in that time period, because so much of everything was a blur.

Teiko had been a nightmare, and in the weeks that followed Furihata wasn’t sure he was fully awake yet.

*

So it takes him awhile to realize that his _ordeal_ has apparently made him interesting, in a way that nothing ever has before, because now all of a sudden the girls in his class are actually talking to him.

Which, frankly, feels like the greatest injustice in the world, because after years of being practically invisible to the opposite sex, he’s now finally being noticed, and all he can think about is Akashi Seijuurou.

If there is any kind of higher power (fate, gods, the universe), it certainly has a quirky sense of humor.

*

He never thinks about Suzuno Chiho anymore, except as a passing comparison to realize that what he felt _then_ is nothing at all to what he feels _now._

(He had, he grudgingly admits, been in love with the idea of love. Suzuno Chiho wasn’t a real person to him, just what he wanted her to be for him. Which was unfair to her, and also very childish. It’s no wonder his brother never took his romantic pursuits seriously. They weren’t very serious at all).

The fact that girls are talking to him now and it means nothing to him is really just a confirmation that _whatever_ this thing with Akashi is (right now, just a text, an email, a phone call, and a memory) it’s different to whatever he had before.

*

When he finally starts _dating_ Akashi, it seems almost too good to be true, and he has the kind of happiness that can’t be brought down by anything. And he still wanders in a sort of daze where his surroundings don’t quite seem real.

It’s why it takes him awhile to realize that Chiho is talking to him. “I was saying we should go to the movies this weekend. You can pick me up at six—”

“He has a boyfriend now!” Fukuda blurts out, startling both Furihata and Chiho. “A really rich one!”

“Yeah, he does!” Kawahara steps in. “A good-looking, rich, athletic boyfriend! Who loves him!”

“And spends lots of money on him!” Fukuda says.

“And he’s a million times better looking and awesome than you! So Furi doesn’t need you!” Kawahara finishes.

“ _What?!_ ” Chiho says.

“What,” Furihata says.

*

“Were you trying to make her jealous _for me?”_

“She needs to know you’ve moved on,” Fukuda sniffs.

“I _have_ moved on!”

“Right! To a really rich, athletic, good-looking boyfriend,” Kawahara says. “You really should emphasize that more.”

“Come on, guys,” Furihata says, deeply embarrassed.

“ _You_ come on. If I were you, Furi, I’d be telling _everyone_ who ever rejected me that I now had a rich boyfriend,” Kawahara says.

“A _handsome_ rich boyfriend. I mean, objectively speaking,” Fukuda says.

“I don’t… think that’s how it works,” Furihata says, “Considering most of them would rather date Akashi than me.”

“Well, exactly,” Kawahara says. “It shows what a hot commodity you are.”

“But…that’s so unnecessary,” Furihata exclaims. He’s happy now. He’s the kind of happy he didn’t think could exist outside of fiction. It doesn’t seem right to _gloat_ about that.

“Believe me,” Kawahara says darkly. “It was necessary.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for Akashi to meet Suzuno Chiho and maybe enact some sort of revenge, but I sorta figured she didn't really deserve that just for being shallow. But I also figured Furi's friends would disagree with me on that point :P


	12. Scars

It’s a complete accident of circumstances that leads Takao to walking in on a completely naked Midorima, but it is one of the hazards of a boy’s locker room.

To his credit, Takao only sees just enough to think, _Oh hello, new material for my filthiest fantasies,_ before he turns around saying, “Whoops, sorry Shin-chan,” and moves to back out.

He is not prepared for the abrupt way he’s pinned to the wall, Midorima’s power completely freezing him in place. He lets out a yelp but then Midorima is _there_ , behind him, looming but not touching. Takao can’t see him but it’s like he can feel Midorima’s presence at his back when as he’s completely immobile, facing the wall.

“Did you see it?” Midorima hisses.

“Oi, Shin-chan!” Takao says, trying to wiggle. Being trapped like this by (a _naked_ ) Midorima is actually doing some embarrassing and alarming things to Takao’s libido, and he has to internally yell at himself, ‘Get it together, man! Now is not the time!’

“ _Did you see?”_ Midorima demands again.

“Yes, I saw your dick, sorry! It was right there! It was only a second, calm down, you’ve got _nothing_ to be ashamed of there, Shin-chan.” That’s an understatement—they sure made them _well_ in Teiko.

He abruptly falls to the ground as he’s suddenly released.

“You—that’s not—be quiet, Takao! That’s not even—!”

Takao risks a peek back as he sees a blushing Midorima (now in a towel) who is pointedly not looking at him.

Blushing, mostly naked, Midorima is a really nice look, even if Takao is beginning to feel like a gigantic pervert. He makes a hasty exit for _both_ their sakes, and only later wonders what it was Midorima hadn’t wanted him to see.

*          

As a general guideline in life Takao tries his best to never seem like a pervert, so he always made a point of never checking out any of his teammates in the locker rooms or onsen, even if sometimes he is really, really tempted to linger on a mostly naked Midorima.

It would be, he decides, especially wrong to stare at Midorima in the bath because the poor guy was practically blind without his glasses. So, theoretically, Takao _could_ stare at him all he wanted (and _oh,_ sometimes he really does want to; Midorima is often annoying, and arrogant, and very standoffish, and Takao still holds a grudge over what happened in middle school, but _damn_ he is incredibly sexy) and Midorima would never know. And just the fact that this _is_ an incredibly tempting thing to do is all the more reason why Takao very deliberately _doesn’t_ look at Midorima in the bath, even when it’s just the two of them and no one would ever know.

This is the main reason why despite being a naturally observant person, and the one closest to Midorima in Shutoku, he doesn’t know about the scars until after it’s pointed out to him.

*

More accurately, after he overhears the Third Years talking.

“Look, I’m just saying, it looks kind of like a bullet wound, don’t you think?” Miyaji says.

“I’m not sure I’d really know what a bullet wound looks like,” Kimura says.

“He has all those cuts on his chest,” Otsubo says, sounding disturbed. “I always wanted to ask, but he doesn’t make it easy, does it?”

“I’m not sure there’s an easy way to ask, ‘Did the military cut you up or was that a product of the lab that created you,’” Miyaji says dryly.

Takao startles at this last comment, because it’s only then that he realizes they’re talking about _Midorima._

“Poor kid. It kind of explains why he’s—you know,” Otsubo says.

“Super weird?” Miyaji says, “Yeah. I’m still occasionally super tempted to throw a pineapple at his head. But you know. I don’t think I ever would. It just seems…wrong.”

Their voices fade as they walk out of Takao’s hearing range; the three probably not aware that Takao had even been in the locker rooms.

*

So of course this means he _does_ look, the next time they’re in the baths together during a training camp. And he sees the smattering of cuts across Midorima’s (otherwise very fine) chest, and the rounded scar on his leg that _does_ look an awful lot like a bullet wound. And all things considered it _is_ really disturbing. Combined with Midorima’s comments about how they weren’t the only Projects who escaped and it’s painting a really nasty picture about Teiko that Takao isn’t sure he’s fully ready to think too hard about.

*

Much, much later, when he knows more about Teiko, when he knows more about _Midorima_ , when everything has changed between them, Takao sees **GM-G7283** branded on Midorima’s thigh and it doesn’t even shock him, like it might have once upon a time.

By now, he knows what Teiko is capable of, and he knows some of Midorima’s scars, both outside and in.

“Why didn’t you want me to see it?” Takao asks, his voice soft.

“I don’t want anyone to see it,” Midorima says. “I hate it. I hate what it means. And I didn’t want _you_ to see it. Especially not you—I—”

And now is not the time—Midorima’s not ready just yet—but Takao makes a promise to himself one day to kiss the brand and every scar Midorima has.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt was for a team to see the scars on a Miracle, and I chose Shutoku and Midorima because part of this was a scene I'd wanted to include in "Don't Blink" but never got the chance.


	13. Furihata Kyo

Furihata Kyo knows he has a lot of natural advantages. A lot of things other people struggle with—sports, school, making friends, flirting—have always come naturally to him. He’s always tried to make a conscious effort not to let any of that go to his head, but he would be the first person to admit that all his gifts in life enabled an easy and steadfast confidence that he could handle whatever life threw his way.

That confidence completely shattered when his little brother was abducted.

*

He had never felt so _useless_ before. His little brother was in danger and there was absolutely _nothing_ he could do about it. The whole experience drove home that in the end, it didn’t _matter_ how gifted you were—how smart or athletic you were, how many friends you had—because none of that helped when someone he loved was in danger.

And his brother had been _shot._ Kyo is forever going to be grateful that Kouki was rescued and brought back, but he’d been shot and somewhat starved and _god knows what else_ and Kyo had never felt so much like a failure.

And then there was Akashi Seijuurou.

*

The thing is, Kyo has always been sort of privately concerned that Kouki was going to wind up falling in love with some heinous bitch who would stomp all over him. Kouki fell in love _so_ easily, over the smallest of gestures, and he was always so eager to please that it was really easy for people to take advantage of him. Kouki had a very warm and generous heart and a lot of people in this world were assholes. Kyo was always been justified in worrying that some heartless woman would abuse Kouki’s good-nature through his need for affection.

When Kouki told him he was bisexual, Kyo’s biggest problem with that was, _Oh great, now I have to worry about all the awful_ men _who could hurt him too!_ And that was a much more terrifying prospect because Kouki had fallen for _Akashi_ _Seijuurou._

Who, really, only makes every imaginary heinous bitch from Kyo’s concerned scenarios for his brother’s romantic prospects suddenly look tame in comparison and really not so bad.

*

“Come now, Furihata-san, you cannot hate me forever.”

Kyo scowls, resenting the fact that this boy is in his house. Akashi had arrived early from Kyoto, and Kouki isn’t home from school yet. “Is the fact that you got my little brother abducted and shot ever going to change? No? Then I’m pretty sure I can hate you forever.”

Akashi looks at him reproachfully. “The fact that we do not get along distresses Furi.”

Kyo twitches, resisting the urge to punch the smug condescension off this guy. “You’re not the first, you know. Kouki falls in love all the time.” Akashi only raises a brow so Kyo presses on. “You probably were kind to him during the abduction, and that’s why he likes you now. It’s only temporary. He once liked a girl just because she lent him her eraser.”

“Suzuno Chiho, I know,” Akashi says mildly. “She told him if he became the best at something, she would go out with him.”

Kyo blinks. He certainly hadn’t heard _that_ part before.

“All things considered, I am grateful for her caveat, otherwise Furi would not have begun playing basketball, and I would not have met him. Although I personally find such ultimatums distasteful, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Kyo says, and then he scowls deeper at his automatic agreement. “I’m surprised he told you about her.”

“Furi tells me everything,” Akashi smiles in that smug way that makes Kyo want to punch him again. “The fact that Furi has been liberal with his affections before does not bother me, Furihata-san.”

“No?”

“Quite the reverse, actually. I take a lot of comfort in the fact that Furi had so many fleeting loves. It indicates a good sign that his affection for _me-_ which has endured over time and, if you don’t mind me saying, considerable opposition from his friends and family–are of a different and more permanent nature.”

There are now whole new levels to scowling that Kyo is achieving because who even talks like this? “ _That’s_ certainly an optimistic way of thinking.”

Akashi tilts his head. “No one has ever called me an optimist before. How novel.”

“What do you want with my brother?” Kyo bursts out, no longer able to contain himself.

“What?” Akashi queries, his voice shifting slightly.

“You don’t have me fooled, OK? I don’t trust you, and you can’t convince me that you actually _love_ Kouki.”

“You find it so impossible that someone might love your brother?” Akashi says, his voice still indecipherable in tone.

“I find it impossible that _you_ would. Let me be clear, I looked into you—I know your Orders have to be obeyed, and that you’re incredibly rich, and that all paints a very entitled picture, so I’ll ask you again—what do you want with my brother?”

Rich assholes might fall in love with good-hearted poor girls all the time in those Korean dramas his mother watches, but Kyo knows the real world doesn’t work that way and he is _not_ going to let some jerk toy with his baby brother.

Akashi sighs and resettles his position in his chair. “How disappointing.”

“ _Excuse_ me?” Kyo bristles.

“You,” Akashi says, disinterestedly. “Your assumptions are inherently faulty. I would have respected you more if you could at least present your arguments in a reasonable fashion.”

“Oh, you know what—” Kyo says, lurching from the couch and getting ready to throw this kid out of his house.

Akashi pins him down with an imperious look.

“Let _me_ be clear, Furihata-san. Your brother may have had infatuations in the past, but I have not. My esteem is not given freely. You seem to have some misunderstanding of my character and I assure you, I am not someone to recklessly toy with someone else’s affections. There are, I suppose, a fair amount of reasons why you might dislike me personally, but at least do me the courtesy of disliking personality flaws I actually possess, and not ones you assume I have because I’m rich.”

Kyo glowers and feels like he’s probably never hated someone more than this person in front of him.

Akashi does not seem at all disturbed by his glower. He meets his gaze evenly and continues, “And if I can correct one more false assumption—I was not kind to Furi during our abduction. It was Furi who was kind to me. Your brother has a lot of amazing qualities, and I suspect you know that. Please believe me when I say I know that too.”

Kyo can see Kouki out the window—he’ll be coming up the walkway soon. He could continue to pick a fight but he knows he’s thoroughly lost this round.

“Fine. Next time I’ll have a more reasoned argument for disliking you.”

“All I ask is for worthy opponents,” Akashi murmurs, but his attention is already shifting to Kouki as he comes through the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This request was Akashi and Kyo's further interactions (their relationship is a work in progress).


	14. Sick

Takao always figured that getting sick when your mom was a nurse had its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, he was always taken care of quite nicely. On the other hand, she always made it seem like it was a personal affront to her honor when he caught a cold.

“Did you remember to wash your hands?”

“Yes, mom,” Takao says in between coughs.

“You take your vitamins, don’t you? Did you stand near someone with a cold?”

“No, but I was licking pigeons the other day, you don’t think that had something to do with it, do you?”

“No need to be sarcastic, Kazu-chan, I’m just wondering how this happened. I’ll make you some soup.”

*

His mom never hovered when Takao was sick, and now that he’s older she mostly leaves him to his own devices because she still has to work. Which is not really a problem, except that sometimes he feels lonely.

Ok, fine, _usually_ he feels lonely. He hates it, but whenever he’s sick he feels especially needy. He tosses and turns in his bed feeling wretched and miserable and pathetic.

Being sick is the worst.

*

“This was very careless of you, Takao.”

Takao blinks at the apparition standing over his bed. “Shin-chan?”

He thinks, perhaps, that he’s dreaming. He’s not sure why else Midorima would be here, frowning at him in his disgruntled and gloriously Midorima fashion.

“I have brought your homework,” Midorima says. “Also, you should have taken better care of yourself. Do you wash your hands regularly?”

Well, it certainly _sounds_ like Midorima. And also like his mother, and Jesus Christ, that is _not_ a comparison Takao ever wants to make again.

“Shin-chaaaan,” Takao whines. “Your adorable and beloved boyfriend is sick. That means you have to be nice. And spoil me. And take care of me.”

He’s not sure what exactly he expects—Midorima is not the most demonstrative of boyfriends—but he is rather pleased when Midorima pushes up his glasses and says, “Very well.”

*

Midorima is very efficient with his care, and Takao dimly remembers that the other boy is studying to be a doctor. He monitors Takao’s temperature, makes sure he drinks a lot of water, and administers the next dosage of medicine in a timely fashion.

When he’s finished, he sits in Takao’s room, and begins studying.

“You can do that at your house,” Takao mumbles.

“I am fine where I am,” Midorima says curtly.

*

Midorima eats dinner in Takao’s room when Takao is too tired to get out of his bed to eat his soup.

It’s… _nice_ having him around, but strangely off-putting. “Shin-chan, you don’t need to stay,” Takao says, when Midorima makes no indication he’s planning on leaving after finishing his meal.

“I know that,” Midorima says.

*

Takao wakes and sees Midorima’s silhouette at his bedside, draped in shadows. It’s clearly the middle of the night, and Midorima sits there, fully alert, staring off at the window.

“Shin—?” Takao can’t fully croak out the words, and he’s pretty sure he must still be dreaming, because there’s no reason for Midorima to still be here.

“Go back to sleep, Takao,” Midorima says, and his voice is a strange mixture of stern and gentle.

“You—sleep?”

“I don’t need as much sleep as you,” Midorima explains, understanding Takao’s unfinished question. “I was designed to go up to a week without sleep, if need be.”

Takao still feels drowsy and heavy with sleep. Midorima reaches over and takes Takao’s hand in his and this surely can’t be real because Midorima almost never initiates contact. But his hand is warm against his, and tight too, like Midorima is scared to let go.

“Shin-chan,” Takao says, fully awake now, and almost a little frightened by Midorima’s gravity. In the darkness, reality feels just a little bit altered, and Midorima is acting so strange Takao thinks there must be something deeper going on. Maybe even something dangerous.

Midorima bends down to place his forehead against Takao’s. “Please get better soon, Takao,” Midorima says, his voice low and hoarse and desperate. “I don’t like seeing you like this. I hate that you’re so vulnerable. I hate that you break so easy, I hate—”

 _It’s just a cold,_ Takao wants to say. If he was healthier, he’d laugh it off (but, of course, if he was healthier he wouldn’t be in this situation). He would laugh and maybe slap Midorima on the back and tell him he’s being silly.

But everything seems so different, now in the dark.

“OK, Shin-chan,” Takao whispers. “I’ll get better.”

“Good,” Midorima says, but he doesn’t pull away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The requests were for more sick!fic, so more sick!fic!!


	15. The Actual Double Date

It would be hard to miss the bright red hair in a crowd, and Takao has always been observant to the faces around him. He sees Akashi first, with just a second long enough to wonder why he was in Tokyo, before spotting Furihata and two people he doesn’t immediately recognize.

He decides right there to pretend he didn’t see them—it’s really only the _nice_ thing to do, since they’re probably on a date, and it’s not like Takao wants to hang out with _Akashi._ So he turns to walk in the other direction, but then the light-haired boy (who seems familiar, at closer glance) suddenly looks right at him and chirps, grabbing onto Furihata’s arm.

Furihata leans in and then follows the boy’s gaze and sees Takao. Before Takao can escape he’s being enthusiastically waved over, so he plasters on a smile and saunters over to where the four boys are sitting.

“Hi, Takao!” Furihata says cheerfully. “You remember my friend, Mihashi.”

Takao looks over at the light-haired kid and it clicks. “Oh yeah! You wanted to talk to Shin-chan.”

The boy smiles and nods shyly, and it comes back to him now. He was one of the kids Teiko abducted. Midorima had been in a strange mood after the meeting—sort of quiet and pensive.

“This is Mihashi’s boyfriend, Abe Takaya.” Takao looks at the stern, bristling young man sitting between Mihashi and Akashi. Abe nods his head in greeting when Takao looks at him.

“What is this, a double-date?” Takao quips. And then at the mildly sheepish expressions of Furihata and Mihashi (and the pronounced indifference of Abe and Akashi) Takao bursts out laughing. “You _are_ on a double date! Oh man, well, don’t let me interrupt you!”

“You’re not interrupting,” Furihata says. “You’re more than welcome—”

“No, no—no one wants a fifth wheel! You lovebirds enjoy yourself.” Mihashi and Abe both look embarrassed by Takao’s pronouncement. Takao walks away, chuckling to himself, and marvels at what a strange world it is sometimes. He can’t wait to tell Midorima that Akashi was on a double-date.

*

He has a lot of shopping to get done in the area, so it’s not wholly surprising when he runs into the dark-haired bristling kid in the men’s bathroom of a department store.

“Hey, Abe-kun, right?” Takao says delightedly.

“Yeah,” the kid says warily.

“Takao Kazunari,” Takao reminds him. “I’m also dating a Miracle, if Furihata didn’t fill you in.”

“Oh,” Abe says, relaxing somewhat.

“You must love your boyfriend _a lot_ to come all this way for a double-date,” Takao remarks, remembering that Mihashi lived in Saitama.

Abe makes a face of grumpy embarrassment. “He really likes Furihata, so…” he shrugs as if to say, _What can you do?_

“I mean, it is serious dedication to go on a double-date with Akashi Seijuurou,” Takao continues.

“There are worse people Ren could insist I hang out with,” Abe says darkly, leaving Takao to wonder who on earth could be worse than Akashi in this boy’s mind.

“I have to ask,” Takao starts. “What’s it like going on a double-date with _Akashi_ _?_ ”

“ _Really weird,_ ” Abe says, to Takao’s gratification. But then to Takao’s surprise, Abe continues with, “That guy has no concept for money. We go everywhere in a _limo._ He keeps suggesting concerts and fancy restaurants and offering to pay for it all. It’s like spending _thousands_ of yen every hour is just pocket change. I feel like I’m hanging out with a movie star.”

“ _Huh,_ ” Takao drawls; this presents a whole avenue of problems he hadn’t even considered at the prospect of double-dating with Akashi Seijuurou. It also, quite frankly, isn’t the first concern that would have come to mind. “So he hasn’t…” he stops as he tries to think of a way to ask, ‘has he threatened to gouge out his own eyes and/or anyone else’s when you’re out in public’ without sounding too alarming. Instead, he finishes with, “Isn’t he kind of…intense?”

Abe’s brows furrow as he contemplates the question with an odd gravity that seems out of place in the men’s bathroom of a department store. “Yeah, kinda,” he says slowly. “It’s kind of just intense being in the same room with all of them, sometimes. Every now and then I remember that I’m the only one who wasn’t abducted by mad scientists and that’s kind of a strange minority to be.”

Takao jolts, but Abe doesn’t notice. The other boy continues with his confession, “Sometimes I feel like I’ll never be able to understand what Ren went through. Akashi does a pretty good job of explaining it, though. I like that about him. I mean—he _lived_ it, yeah? That’s all he knew. But he’s still always been really understanding about what it means for Ren. I appreciate that.”

Takao has never known Akashi to be particularly understanding about anything. But then, they hadn’t really interacted much outside of basketball, so it was perhaps unfair to judge.

Granted, the eye-gouging threat was a pretty distinct first impression but it did stand to reason there was more to the guy.

“I better get back. Ren gets nervous if I’m away too long.”

“Bye,” Takao says as Abe retreats, and he continues to mull over Akashi for quite some time after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @you-saved-more-than-my life requested other people realizing that Akashi also went through a lot of trauma, with bonus points for the return of Mihashi and Abe.
> 
> Thanks for reading!!!


	16. Jealous

For Furihata, Harudori Minoru was primarily just one of his older brother’s friends, so it had seemed harmless enough to stop and say hello when he’d seen him as he was waiting for Akashi to come back from—whatever it is Akashi did when quietly orchestrating the mechanics of their date. (Furihata is _fairly_ certain this requires only copious amounts of money and not anything illegal. Furihata has attempted to convince Akashi dozens of times that copious amounts of money and Machiavellian maneuverings are not necessary for an enjoyable date, but Akashi seems to take genuine pleasure in strategizing their outings as if he was coordinating tactical warfare, so after awhile Furihata just let him plan however he wanted).

It seems innocuous enough to chat with one of his brother’s friends, but then Minoru grins and says, “We haven’t spoken since you cruelly shot me down at the game center.”

Furihata blushes—he can’t help it, he’s always blushed easily—and says crossly. “Oh, come on, we both know you were only paying attention to me because Kyo-nii asked you to.”

Minoru laughs a loud full-throated sound that fills the spaces between them. “Is _that_ what you thought? No wonder you were so mad by the end of the night. Oh man, no, I’ve been interested in you for awhile, but Kyo always chased me away. The one time I asked if you were interested in guys I thought he was going to rip my head off. Kyo’s a good friend, so I didn’t want to break the Bro Code to pursue you. He only gave me the go ahead when he disapproved of the other guy.”

“OK, that is insulting _on so many levels,_ ” Furihata says hotly, infuriated with his brother all over again. He is going to have a _long_ talk with his brother about meddling in his romantic affairs.

“Maybe, but you have to think about it from my perspective, you know? If one of _your_ friends didn’t want you dating their sibling, you’d back off, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Furihata concedes reluctantly, knowing that he wouldn’t have pursued Kawahara or Fukuda’s hypothetical sibling if they’d been against it.

“I _was_ genuinely interested in you, though,” Minoru says, his voice softening as he takes a step forward. “I liked you ever since you stopped by after soccer practice that one time, remember?”

“Oh,” Furihata says, unused to anyone noticing him when Kyo was around.

“I’m so mad at Kyo now, though. I hate to think I’ve lost any chance just because he threw a fit then, you know?”

Furihata abruptly feels like Minoru is standing too close. “Oh, well—”

He jumps at the sudden warmth that envelopes him, and Akashi is there, his arm around Furihata’s waist. “Kouki,” his boyfriend croons, “Who is this?”

Furihata gulps because he hadn’t started this date out with Seijuurou, and he’s not sure what it means that Akashi’s “other” self is here now. “One of Kyo-nii friends. He—eep!” Seijuurou’s hand around his waist moves under Furihata’s shirt and caresses upward across his skin. Furihata is pretty sure he’s never been so red.

“Is that so?” Seijuurou says, fixing his stare on Minoru, much like how a cobra might stare at a sparrow.

Minoru frowns. “You’re making Furihata-kun uncomfortable. It’s very poor form.”

“Am I, Kouki?” Seijuurou says, his lips brushing up against Furihata’s neck.

“Mmmerhummur,” Furihata manages.

“I think you should leave now,” Seijuurou says, in that way of his that is clearly a command and also maybe a threat.

It is really not all that surprising that Minoru leaves.

“Seijuurou!” Furihata exclaims. “What was that about?”

“That man was clearly an interloper,” Seijuurou says, still nuzzling into Furihata’s neck.

“Don’t you trust me?” Furihata asks, mildly hurt by this.

“Of course I do, Kouki,” Seijuurou soothes. “But it is not in me to stand at the sidelines in face of the enemy.”

“He’s not the _enemy,_ ” Furihata says, scandalized, “He’s not even competition. I love you—you know that, right?”

“Yes, I know,” Seijuurou says smugly, pressing a quick kiss against Furihata’s lips and clearly not caring at all about proper society’s aversion to public displays of affection.

“And now that interloper knows it too.”

Furihata is not convinced that’s the takeaway message Minoru had, but he’s certainly not going to bring that up. Seijuurou’s hand is still inside his shirt and stroking his bare back and it is very distracting, so he decides he can continue this conversation later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for a jealous Miracle, preferably Akashi =D


	17. Guilty Pleasure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt was "guilty pleasure" and the alternate title that was too long to properly fit in the chapter title is: "Four Times Kise Was Caught Being Creepy about Kasamatsu Yukio and One Time He Wasn't."

Kise takes in a deep breath and sighs into the scent of Kasamatsu Yukio. He _can_ technically Copy the scent, but it never seems quite the same. He’s not sure if he could explain what it is about the scent that drives him crazy; he knows exactly what shampoo and body wash Kasamatsu uses, but somehow this scent is still different, and he wants to stay like this forever.

“Ryouta-nii?”

Kise jumps and almost falls out of the bed.

“Why are you in Yukio-nii-san’s bed?” Ren asks quizzically, standing in the doorway.

“It’s my bed,” Kise says quickly.

“No, it’s not, your bed is the one by the window.”

“Well, it was closer. I sleep wherever. I’m very careless sometimes. Get out of my room, brat!”

Ren looks at him like he’s nuts, but he does leave.

*

Kise thinks it’s ridiculously stupid that Kasamatsu has to stay after school to study—studying is stupid, studying with other people (who are _not_ Kise!) is stupid. Clearly, it is not Kise’s fault that he needs to comfort himself in some way.

“Eh? Ryouta-nii, why are you Copying Nii-san?” Mizuki asks, coming into the room.

Kise doesn’t hesitate for a second, he knows how to get out of a tricky situation. “What are you talking about, Mizuki? Kise’s not—”

“Nii-san dropped me off just now. He’ll be in soon.”

“Oh. Damn.” Kise shifts back.

“Are you wearing Nii-san’s uniform?” Mizuki asks, frowning.

“No.”

“Are those his knee socks?”

“No, shut up. If you tell anyone I’ll smother you in your sleep.”

“Like I want to talk about my creepy brother perving on my other brother,” Mizuki says, rolling his eyes.

Kise would pursue this, but he needs to change before Kasamatsu comes home.

*

Kise takes a long drink of water from the bottle that’s been handed to him with a particular kind of secretive glee.

“You know, Kise, you always take the water bottle after Kasamatsu.”

Kise glances at Moriyama and says, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Please,” Moriyama says. “You almost ripped my hand off that one time Kasamatsu passed the bottle to me. I read shoujo manga, I know what an indirect kiss is. And you _always_ take the bottle after the Captain.”

Kise narrows his eyes. “You’re paying a lot of attention to Kasamatsu-senpai’s drinking habits.”

“Whoa, there, kid. I’m 100% heterosexual, don’t look at me like that. I’m just making conversation.”

“Converse elsewhere,” Kise says. Kasamatsu isn’t around to tell him to respect his elders, so he doesn’t feel the need to be respectful.

“Got it,” Moriyama exits.

*

Kise had thought maybe he was immune to embarrassment around parental figures—Youji being like a really awesome older brother, most days—but apparently he was wrong.

“Oh God,” Youji says, covering his face. “I’m not going to ask.”

“It’s really probably better if you don’t,” Kise says, his face uncomfortably red.

“He _is_ my son, you know—”

“You said you weren’t going to ask!”

“Right, right. I’m not. We’re never speaking of this again.”

*

Kise stares at Kasamatsu as he sleeps and he can’t even believe this is happening. He’s laying next to him in his bed, their limbs entwined together. Per Kasamatsu’s rules, they _are_ just sleeping, nothing else, because their brothers are in the next room.

But even as innocent as it is, Kise feels an incredible thrill, like he’s getting away with doing something very illicit.

Kasamatsu Yukio has always been Kise’s guilty pleasure.

He’s just never felt particularly guilty about it, and now, he never has to ever again.

 


	18. What Hinata Did During Akashi's Abduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request wondered how Karasuno reacted to the news that Akashi had been abducted, so this is set during "You Could Never Wear My Crown."

Hinata wakes up to both his parents standing over his bed. It is very disconcerting.

“Shou-chan,” his mother says, her voice gentle and thick with concern. “We have to tell you something.”

Hinata’s heart immediately speeds up as he contemplates a series of potential disasters.

“Your friend Akashi was abducted yesterday,” his father says.

“Oh my God,” Hinata says, deeply appalled.

“Try to remain calm, Shou-chan,” Sawako says.

“Are they _nuts_?” Hinata exclaims. “He’ll kill them!”

“What?” Kousei says.

“Akashi! He’ll destroy everything! Man, I hope he doesn’t start a war or something.”

His parents don’t quite seem to know what to do with that.

*

“I’m taking you to school,” Kousei says.

“What, why?” Hinata says.

“Just because.”

“But it’s such a waste? You need to go to work, and I can just take my bike.”

“I am taking you to school,” Kousei says, more firmly this time.

*

Eating lunch with Kageyama has been a more regular thing since they started dating, but it’s a little weird when Tsukishima and Yamaguchi show up too.

“You must be so worried,” Yamaguchi says.

“No?” Hinata says, confused. “About what?”

“About your friend?”

“Not really. I’m more worried about that kid he’s with. Akashi can take care of himself.”

*

“Uhhh… guys?”

“Yeah, Shouyou?” Nishinoya says.

“I can go to the bathroom by myself.”

“Sure, sure,” Tanaka says.

“So… you don’t need to come with me?”

“You always meet scary people at the bathroom,” Nishinoya says. “Stands to reason, if anyone’s going to abduct you, it’ll be when you have to pee.”  
  
“No one’s going to abduct me!” Hinata exclaims, finally realizing what’s happening.

“Not when we’re around,” Tanaka agrees.

*

“I promised your father I would take you home, Hinata-kun,” Takeda says after practice.

“But I live so out of your way,” Hinata protests.

“It’s really no trouble,” Takeda says.

*

The next day is worse.

“Captain, Suga-san,” Hinata protests.

“Don’t even think about it,” Daichi says. “You’re not going anywhere without an escort.”

“But—”

“No buts,” Suga says.

*

“ _Asahi-san._ ” At this point, Hinata is more than a little outraged by the unfairness of it all. “ _Asahi-san_ is going to be my escort.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Asahi asks.

“What are you going to do if I’m abducted?” Hinata asks, trying not to be too accusatory to his glass-hearted senpai.

“He’ll spike their faces in!” Tanaka says, slapping Asahi on the back.

“Errr. What he said,” Asahi says.

*

It is, perhaps, the last straw when Yachi shows up to walk him to practice.

“Yachi-san, not you too,” Hinata groans.

“Villager B can fight, too!” she says, cheerfully raising her fists.

“Nuh uh, no way, stop that. Also, that’s not how you make a fist.”

“Really?” Yachi says, looking at her hands.

“For the love of—” Hinata bites back his exclamation and goes to the volleyball court.

*

“I AM A GENETETICALLY DESIGNED SUPER HUMAN!” Hinata shouts as he arrives. “AND I CAN FLY.”

“You can jump,” Tsukishima smirks.

“IT’S CLOSE ENOUGH!”

“Suck it up, Shouyou,” Nishinoya says.

Hinata glowers and wonders if there’s any point in emphasizing the part where he was trained as an assassin. Probably not.

He’s genuinely not all that concerned about Akashi. The Miracles knew how to take care of themselves. The bigger concern is that a human was taken with him. Hinata is so frustrated with his teammates—don’t they realize they’re just putting themselves in danger?

“Don’t be such a dumbass,” Kageyama says, bumping his side and glaring at him.

Hinata slumps and sighs. They’re frightened. He gets that. And…he appreciates it a little.

He’ll put up with it for now. If anyone tries to abduct him everyone—Karasuno and would-be abductors alike—will learn for themselves that Hinata Shouyou was trained by Teiko.

He can protect his friends.

 


	19. Shirts

Kuroko finds the shirt when he does the laundry.

He looks at the shirt for longer than he should, because Kagami walks in and finds him like that. “Kuroko, do you—ack!” Kagami moves with the instincts of a seasoned athlete and grabs the shirt out of Kuroko’s hands before Kuroko can pull back.

“Kagami-kun, you are so shameless, I had no idea,” Kuroko says passively.

“It’s not what you think! It’s not mine!”

“It belongs to someone else who is dating a Miracle, then?” Kuroko inquires, politely.

“I mean it’s,” Kagami flushes, “OK, it’s _mine,_ but it was all Takao’s fault. He made it.”

“I see,” Kuroko says. He tries to picture Kagami in the shirt (and finds that he actually _really_ wants to see Kagami in the shirt), “That color would not go well with your hair at all.”

“I know, shut up.” Kagami scrunches up the shirt into a ball and refuses to meet his gaze. “I wanted a black one.”

Which, Kuroko notes, is _not_ the same thing as not wanting to wear the shirt at all. A flush of warmth spreads through his body, and Kuroko is pretty sure he can convince Kagami to wear the shirt for him after all.

*

Kise finds the shirt on accident, when he’s rifling through Kasamatsu’s dresser. (He’s run out of clothes, and he really hates doing laundry and loves wearing Kasamatsu’s clothes, so really, it only makes sense to combine these two things by picking through Kasamatsu’s shirts).

It’s in the very back of the bottom drawer, shoved into the corner, and when Kise finds it he makes an inhaling, gasping, squealing noise that must sound very alarming because Kasamatsu comes storming in, “Oi, Kise, what’s wrong—oh, crap.”

“ _Senpai,”_ Kise breathes, “Please put this on, please, please.”

“Not even in your wildest fantasy,” Kasamatsu says.

“This is _definitely_ going in my fantasies,” Kise agrees. “Please, wear it just _once,_ I will do anything, _anything_ , if you put this on. Any demeaning, most depraved thing you might want, I will do it.”

And to Kise’s surprise, Kasamatsu actually pauses and _thinks it over._ Kise thinks he might actually die from a combination of happiness and lack of oxygen.

Kasamatsu snatches the shirt from Kise’s hands while he’s distracted.

“Senpai,” Kise pouts.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kasamatsu says. “The next time I need you to do something.”

“Wha—what’d you say?”

But Kasamatsu has already left, his ears faintly red.

*

Takao plans very strategically for the reveal. He waits for a time when his mom and sister will be out of the house (they’re at MM Land, with Dr. Kishitani and Naoko, making it absolutely perfect because there’s no chance Midorima’s family will be around either) and then he invites Midorima over for dinner.

Takao has a game he likes to play, it’s called, “Make Shin-chan Blush Increasingly Deeper Shades of Red at Every Opportunity.” The redder Midorima gets, the more points Takao awards himself in this game. He’s winning, so far.

This night, starts with him opening the door wearing an apron. “Shin-chan, you made it!”

“What are you wearing?” Midorima sputters, already faintly red.

Takao grins, “Do you want dinner, a bath, or me?”

Midorima turns around to leave.

“Wait, wait! Come back, I was only kidding,” Takao says, pulling Midorima into the house. “Come on, I actually made dinner!”

“Fool,” Midorima says, redder than before.

Now that he’s in the house, with the door safely closed behind him, Takao goes in for the kill and takes off the apron.

“What— _what is that?”_

“This old thing?” Takao says, gesturing to his green shirt. “Do you like it? I made it myself.”

“Take that off right now,” Midorima says.

“Ooh, Shin-chan, so bold,” Takao grins, moving to take off his shirt.

“ _That’s not what I meant.”_

This is new levels of red on Midorima, and Takao counts this night as a huge success.

*

Himuro always wears his shirt. Pretty much whenever they’re not required to be in uniform. Murasakibara doesn’t even really bat an eye.

“Dude, I am not going out with you when you’re wearing that shirt,” Fukui says.

“Hm?” Himuro says.

“God, you two are so embarrassing. I am not going to the movies when you’re wearing a matching shirt to your matching boyfriend. Especially since you guys can’t keep your hands off each other.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Himuro says innocently.

“You’re sitting in his lap right now,” Fukui whines.

“Well, we’re not out yet,” Himuro says.

“We’ve been out with you before, it doesn’t stop you,” Liu says. “Change your shirt, Himuro.”

“But I look good in purple, don’t you think?”

“Murochin does look good in purple,” Murasakibara agrees.

“See?”

“We’re leaving you here,” Fukui says.

*

Furihata loves his shirt, but he doesn’t know when he can wear it. He is not brave enough to wear it in public, and he would get no end of grief from Kyo if he wore it around the house.

But because he _wants_ to wear the shirt, even when he isn’t necessarily brave enough to show it off to public, he decides to wear it as an undershirt when he’s out to see Akashi. That way, he has the satisfaction of wearing it without anyone else knowing, which does provide a fair amount of glee.

“Furihata,” Akashi says, in that croon of his that’s a mixture of a purr and a command and also makes Furihata shiver with all sorts of thoughts about the kind of situation they’d be in where Akashi could use that voice. “Are you wearing what I think you’re wearing?”

“Wh-what?” Furihata laughs nervously. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ve heard about the shirts from Murasakibara, Kise and a very reluctant Midorima. Is that yours?”

Furihata knows he’s blushing. He forgets sometimes that the Miracles _do_ talk to one another. “…Maybe.”

“Please, let me see it?”

Oh god, Furihata really needs to develop some sort of immunity to Akashi when he sounds like that, because it is not good for his health. Akashi _asking_ for anything is a particular weakness of his. Furihata peels off his top shirt, and is pretty sure he must be matching the red shirt that everyone can now see.

“How lovely,” Akashi says, sounding incredibly smug. “That’s a good color for you, Furi.”

*

“You mean you _all_ have one?” Momoi exclaims. “That’s no fair, I want one! A pink one!”

“You’re a Miracle,” Takao points out. “You’re not qualified to be in our club.”

“I want one for Dai-chan!” Momoi insists.

“I’m not wearing a pink shirt,” Aomine says.

She sniffs. “Then I’ll see if Ryou-kun wants one.”

“No, you won’t!”

“Hmm, good point, Aomine _is_ , technically, a Miracle Boyfriend,” Takao says, gleefully.

“I’m not joining your stupid club,” Aomine says.

“We don’t want you in our club, so you can’t join,” Kagami says.

“Shut up, Kagami, don’t tell me what to do!”

“Aomine-kun would not look good in pink,” Kuroko says innocently.

“Fuck you, Tetsu, I would look awesome in pink.”

“Done and done, then,” Takao says. “I’ll make you one by the next meeting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for the Miracles' reaction the the Miracle Boyfriends T-Shirts =D
> 
> EDIT: There is now some incredible art for this story! @furihatacookie  
> [here](http://furihatacookie.tumblr.com/post/156448448404/so-ive-been-wanting-to-draw-the) and @mist-me [here](http://mist-me.tumblr.com/post/157168868187/dwellintodoodles-heres-a-thing-from-umisabaku) drew the shirts!!!!! Thank you so much, friends!!  
> ALSO the amazing @z-hard drew this whole scene!! [Here it is!](https://umisabaku.tumblr.com/post/159354603144/z-hard-favorite-scenes-from-designation) I am so honored =D


	20. Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this for @harrypotterisback, who wanted to know more about the Miracles and their birthdays, and also had a birthday recently =D
> 
> (Set during the time when they stayed at the JSDF base, probably a little after they all got their names).

“Shintarou-kun,” Dr. Kishitani starts one day, sounding very awkward. “I have always wondered… you said you were a Cancer, correct?”

Midorima pushes up his glasses. “Yes, that is correct.”

“So… that must mean you know when your birthday is?”

Midorima stares at him for a beat, not willing to admit he didn’t know what the man is talking about.

“You know…the day you were born? The day that determines your zodiac sign?”

“July seventh,” Midorima says, pleased to finally understand what was going on. “You mean the day I was created.”

“Er, right. I must say, I’m surprised that’s something they told you.”

“Well, naturally. We always had physical checkups and performance reviews on the day we were created, to monitor our Success as Projects. The failures were usually scrapped on the tenth review, but all the reviews after that were fairly inconsequential.”

Kuroko’s thirteenth review had been coming up, and they all knew he wasn’t going to pass. That had been Kuroko’s motivation for leaving Teiko when they did. Midorima would have been happy to explain all of this, except Dr. Kishitani was looking so horrified it didn’t seem like quite the time to continue. “Dr. Kishitani?”

“Oh god,” the doctor says, sounding sick. “ _Oh._ ”

“We don’t get reviews any more, right?” Midorima says, suddenly unsure. “Kise was pleased his passed without one. They were quite strenuous and no one enjoyed them.”

“ _No,_ never again,” Dr. Kishitani says, with a fierce vehemence that makes Midorima feel pleased, without quite understanding why.

*

“Why is that cake on fire?” Akashi asks.

“It is Midorima-kun’s birthday,” Dr. Kishitani announces.

“So… so he gets a cake that is on fire,” Kise says.

“And presents!” Nobuko says, putting a wrapped present in Midorima’s hands. He looks down at it, wary.

“We have a pile over here,” Youji says, gesturing to a small assortment of similarly wrapped packages over at the table.

Midorima cautiously unwraps the present in his hands to find a small bear with a green ribbon and glasses. “It’s tomorrow’s lucky item,” he says, sounding pleased. He wasn’t sure where he was going to find a bear with a green ribbon.

“I have one for you too,” Dr. Kishitani says quickly. “It’s a medical book. You can open it later. I mean. If you want to.”

“Wait, wait, Midorima just gets a bunch of stuff for no reason?” Aomine says.

“And cake,” Murasakibara says, shuffling closer to the cake. “It looks good, even if it’s on fire. Although Midochin won’t be good at eating fire. I could probably do it, though.”

“No, no you don’t eat the candles,” Youji says, alarmed, “Shintarou blows out the candles after we sing.”

“That seems rather pointless,” Akashi says, sounding cross with this. He didn’t like things that didn’t make sense.

“And he makes a wish!” Nobuko says. “Only, silently, Shintarou-kun. After we sing.”

“None of that actually explains anything,” Akashi says.

“It’s tradition, to celebrate the day you came into this world,” Dr. Kishitani says firmly. “Because it is your birthday.”

“I didn’t get a flaming cake _or_ presents on my birthday!” Kise says.

“Me neither!” Momoi exclaims.

“You will,” Youji says decisively. “From now on, you are _always_ going to get a flaming cake and presents on your birthdays. And singing.”

Momoi puffs up her cheeks, perhaps thinking that it was going to be an awful long time before she got her flaming cake.

“We can have make up belated celebrations, later this month, for those of you who haven’t gotten one yet,” Michiru says.

“OK,” Momoi says.

*

“Make a wish, Shintarou-kun,” Dr. Kishitani urges, after the singing. “And then blow out all the candles.”

Midorima blows out the candles, but he can’t think of what else he should ask for. He never expected he’d get all the things he has; it seems much too much to ask for more.


	21. Favorite Food

Black first discovers the vanilla milkshake while he’s on a mission for Teiko.

He did a lot of things while he was Out—things that the others don’t know about, things that he would be punished severely for if anyone found out. But the nice thing about his Latent Overflow was that as long as he wasn’t doing anything that drew too much attention, no one would notice, even if he wasn’t using his powers. He could quietly read a book in the off-hours of a mission with everyone else none the wiser.

The vanilla milkshake was perfect because it didn’t draw attention. (Only later, he will hear the association of “vanilla” with “boring” and he’ll think, ah, that’s why it was so perfect). He found that he could drink one and no one would see and he liked it a lot. It was sweet. Nothing was ever sweet in Teiko.

And even though he _shouldn’t_ risk punishment for such a small thing, he still risked anyway.

(Kuroko can eat anything now, without fear of drawing attention to himself. But he still prefers vanilla, because of what he risked).

*

Unbeknownst to everyone, Green also tries canned red bean soup first when he was on a mission.

It was the single most reckless, disobedient thing he ever did. To this day, he is still slightly appalled at his own rebellion. But he’d been so _curious_ by the machine, and he’d found the money by chance, so he couldn’t resist pushing the button to see what would happen.

It was a warm day when he tried it, and the soup was warm in his throat. He drank it quickly so no one would see him, and he never attempted such a thing ever again.

(But it was one of the first things he wanted to eat, once they were free. Midorima never explains why to anyone).

*

Purple discovers candy almost immediately after being brought in by the JSDF.

There was still a lot of panic and confusion going around—none of the soldiers quite seemed to know what to do with the children they had found, and all of them seemed a little wary around Purple. This wasn’t anything Purple felt like he needed to be concerned about—now that no one was shooting at him he didn’t really care what was happening. Red would handle everything.

“I’m hungry,” he announced, because he was usually always hungry. It was a bit surprising when one of the soldiers handed him a nerunerunerune candy, only because he wasn’t used to anyone listening to him when he had that complaint.

“Hey,” he said, surprised by the taste. He was surprised by everything about it: how colorful it was, how complicated it was, how it didn’t even look like something you could eat but he put it in his mouth anyway. He almost spat it out, thinking it couldn’t possibly be food, but it wasn’t unpleasant so he didn’t. “What is this?”

“Candy?” the soldier said.

“So not food?”

“No, it’s food. I mean, you eat it.”

“But it doesn’t taste like food. It tastes good.”

“Food Outside has flavor, Purple,” Black said quietly at his side. The soldiers hadn’t quite noticed Black yet, and probably didn’t hear him, but Purple leaned in to listen. “It’s not supposed to be bland. It comes in a lot of different flavors.”

“Huh,” Purple said, thinking this over. “Then I want to try everything.”

(Murasakibara doesn’t have a favorite flavor, not really. Anything new is good. But that first time changed everything and candy will always stand out.)

*

Pink enjoys cherries because of the memory, and also because of her skill.

Sakurai Michiru found her one day, off to the side and trying to hide her resentment and her pouting. “They’re not teaching you how to play basketball?!” the woman exclaimed once she heard about the problem. “Those sexist fuckers, I’m going to pound some sense into them—”

“That’s not it,” Pink said quickly, “They explained the rules, but everyone had to go easy on me because I’m not as strong as them. They didn’t _say_ that, but I could tell. The boys weren’t going to have fun if I kept playing, so…” She didn’t know how to explain that she didn’t want to compete in a realm where she didn’t have a chance, so she didn’t finish her thought.

Michiru must have figured it out anyway. She disappeared and came back with a big bowl of cherries. She sat down next to Pink and plopped the bowl down between them and said, “OK, kiddo, I’m going to teach you an important life skill right now. Something that will be incredibly useful to you later on in life, and it will also make everyone wild with jealousy because not a lot of people can master it.”

“Really?” Pink asked. “That’s probably not true. Besides computers, there’s not much I can do that the boys can’t.”

“Oh ho, that’s the beauty of this trick, even if the boys _could_ learn it, it’s nowhere near as effective unless it’s done by a pretty girl.”

“That sounds amazing! What it is?”

(Momoi likes the memory of the afternoon they spent working their way through the bowl more than anything else.

But, she has to admit, being able to tie a knot in a cherry stem with her tongue _does_ happen to be a skill she’s quite proud to show off. It’s definitely one of the most useful things she’s ever learned.)

*

Blue likes teriyaki hamburger because he genuinely likes the taste best.

Imayoshi Sayuri more or less forcibly dragged him to a restaurant near base (one of her attempts to normalize him to society) and said he should find something he liked.

“Then I’m going to order everything on the menu,” he snarled.

“Fine,” she said, calling his bluff.

Convinced _she_ was bluffing, he actually went ahead and ordered everything. When she didn’t stop him he demanded, “How exactly are you paying for all this, hag?”

“I’m not, Sergeant Kasamatsu is. I took one of his credit cards.”

“He’s OK with that?”

“That guy always seems to have money, so it’s fine. I think he has a sugar daddy or something.”

Blue didn’t know what that meant, but it sounded appealing at the time.

He made a point of taking at least one bite out of everything that came. And the teriyaki burger was the best.

(Aomine still likes it best, but mostly he just remembers that day as being _fun._ Sometimes he still wants to go into a restaurant and order everything on the menu. He knows what a sugar daddy is now, though, and it’s no longer appealing, but he does hope that one day Momoi gets really rich.)

*

In a strange twist, Yellow likes onion gratin soup because Kasamatsu Yukio does not.

Youji took them both out, on the grounds of “it’s not good to eat nothing but cafeteria food all the time” and Kise picked the restaurant.

It only becomes clear later that Kasamatsu didn’t really like Western food all that much. He had apparently picked the onion gratin as the most innocuous option, but he took one bite and frowned around his food.

“You don’t like it?” Kise asked.

Kasamatsu popped the spoon out. “I’ll eat it. I hate wasting food.” He took another bite and grimaced.

“I’ll eat it,” Kise said, taking Kasamatsu’s spoon right from his hand, and using it to try Kasamatsu’s food.

“You had your own spo—oh, never mind,” Youji said.

“I like it!” Kise said, his eyes never leaving Kasamatsu.

“Oh, good. Thanks,” Kasamatsu said, staring back. They’re sitting so close to one another, Kise leaning in, one hand just casually, carefully, touching Kasamatsu’s arm, Kasamatsu’s spoon still in Kise’s mouth, and Kise thought it was a little bit like kissing, the way they were looking at each other.

“I’m still here,” Youji said.

“What?” Kasamatsu said, breaking away from Kise.

“Nevermind,” Youji said, rolling his eyes.

(It’s still Kise’s favorite, and which is still funny considering how much Kasamatsu doesn’t like the dish. But it still tastes a little bit like a kiss to him.)

*

“I’m sorry it’s so plain,” Furihata says quickly. “It’s the only thing I know how to cook. I know you’re probably used to fancier things—”

“Not at all, Furi. Tofu soup is actually my favorite food,” Akashi reassures.

“Really?” Furihata says, brightening.

“Yes,” Akashi says, taking a pleased sip. Red had never seen the point of a favorite food. So Akashi can say with perfect honesty that tofu soup is his favorite, because he knows it will be, from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked for how they discovered their favorite foods =D


	22. Hinata's birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was Hinata's birthday fic for @iamsmaughearmerawr birthday! =D

The only reason why the idea is even planted in his head is because Yachi first brings it up. She’s the one who says, “What do you have planned for Hinata-kun’s birthday?” like it’s the most natural thing in the world to ask.

In retrospect, Kageyama thinks she must have gone into this lunch with the ulterior motive to ask about Hinata’s birthday, because she had seemed particularly eager to still have lunch with him and Yamaguchi even when Hinata wasn’t around. (Tsukishima rarely joined them during their lunch break, and only when Yamaguchi managed to gently bully him into making an appearance. Mostly he cried off by saying, “What, we’re going to see each other during practice, aren’t we?” in that snide way of his that somehow managed to make it sound like getting lunch together was the most childish thing anyone else could do).

Kageyama had been privately marveling over the fact that he _could_ have lunch with Yachi and Yamaguchi when Hinata wasn’t around (the other boy having to talk to a teacher), because having lunch with other people never used to be a thing Kageyama did with anyone and talking to people was still difficult without Hinata nearby.

(Things are easier if Hinata is around as a buffer; Kageyama doesn’t have to talk to other people, he can just talk to Hinata, and it was always easy talking to Hinata).

But at some point it wasn’t so difficult talking to Yachi, or Yamaguchi, or any of the volleyball club members and that in and of itself seemed like a miracle.

Yachi’s questions throws him for a loop. Of course he knows Hinata’s birthday is coming up, but the question itself reminds Kageyama of all the times when he didn’t have the answer to whatever it was he was supposed to say. “Uhh,” he says, because that’s as far as he can get.

“You _do_ have plans, right?” Yachi says urgently, “I mean, he’s your _boyfriend,_ right?”

“Well, sure,” Kageyama says, finally figuring out a little bit what Yachi is asking. “But, I mean, we’re both guys, so it’s not like I have to do anything special.”

Both Yachi and Yamaguchi are looking at him with horrified expressions.

“Yes! Yes, you do!” Yachi exclaims.

“Kageyama,” Yamaguchi says, “As a gay man, I can say with authority: you still have to do something nice for your boyfriend even though you’re both dudes.”

“What?” Kageyama grunts. “What’s the point in that?”

“He’s your boyfriend!” Yachi exclaims, flailing her arms around, as if trying desperately to convey something with the motion, “He’s like, you’re most important person! Of course you have to do something nice for his birthday! Everyone likes special things on their birthday! And he’s your _boyfriend!!_ ”

Yachi keeps saying that, _boyfriend,_ like if only she keeps saying it Kageyama will suddenly understand everything and get with the program. “Yeah, but it’s _Hinata.”_ Doing nice things for a hypothetical boyfriend is one thing, but _Hinata_ is an entirely different story.

This argument does not seem to carry much weight with the other two.

“I guess I could toss for him?” he says finally, more for Yachi’s sake, because she looks like she might cry. “He’d like that.”

“You can’t _play volleyball_ for his birthday! That’s what you do every day!” Yachi exclaims.

“But he likes volleyball,” Kageyama says, confused, “I like volleyball, it’s sort of the only thing we have in common that we enjoy doing, besides making out. And we make out all the time, so it’s not like that’s particularly special either—”

“You have to give him something nice,” Yamaguchi says, blushing faintly (embarrassed, slightly, by Kageyama’s pronouncement). “Something really romantic that shows him that you’re thinking about him.”

“And bring him a cake!” Yachi says, “A small one, just for him. That’s romantic.”

“And if you could spend the day with him, that would be good,” Yamaguchi says. “Go on a date, take him somewhere nice, and treat him to nice things.”

“Err,” Kageyama says. “Well—”

“You can’t take him to a volleyball court,” Yamaguchi says.

“But he _likes_ volleyball!”

“Kageyama-kun,” Yachi says, in a reproachful way she’s developed since taking over as the full-time manager; she has really perfected the art of sounding disapproving. “It’s the one day that’s his, where he gets to be special. If you care about him, you need to show that.”

“Also, he probably… I mean, I don’t think he had a lot of nice birthdays, growing up, you know?” Yamaguchi says awkwardly. “So, really, I mean, it’s only fitting that you do something _now._ ”

Between the two of them, they successfully manage to make Kageyama feel like a terrible boyfriend, so he starts thinking about what he should do for Hinata’s birthday.

*

“Eh? I have plans with my family that day.”

Kageyama scowls, because _really,_ after all the thought he put into this, Hinata should at least cooperate.

“I always spend my birthday with my family,” Hinata says, “It’s kind of like our anniversary. Which sorta makes it like, a double-birthday. But, but, maybe we could do something later? Or—” he scrunches up his nose, “I guess you could join us?”

Kageyama’s scowl deepens. “That would be kind of weird, yeah?”

“Kinda,” Hinata admits. Kageyama has met Hinata’s parents, he’s even met Hinata’s parents officially as _Hinata’s boyfriend,_ but they haven’t quite progressed to the stage where they hang out socially and do things together.

“We could hang out after,” Kageyama says.

“That’s definitely the better option,” Hinata says, sounding relieved.

*

It’s not that Kageyama doesn’t _want_ to do nice things for Hinata, especially on Hinata’s birthday, but he just can’t help but feel incredibly awkward about the whole thing.

Hinata is the most important person to him, no question, and he would do anything for him. In so many ways, it’s easier to be around Hinata than anyone else in the world. But… he doesn’t know how to _do_ this sort of thing.

“Uhh, what is this?” Hinata says, confused.

“Your birthday presents,” Kageyama says.

“You got me birthday presents?” Hinata says. “Why?”

“Just open them, will you?” Kageyama snaps.

“You—got me socks and air salonpas.” For a brief second, Kageyama thinks maybe he should have taken Yachi up on her offer to go shopping with him, and then Hinata brightens and says, “Hey, thanks! That’s just what I needed! Hey, hey, does this mean you’re going to toss for me?”

“Yeah,” Kageyama says, tension draining. “Yeah, sure, let’s go do that.”

“Awesome! Best birthday EVER! You have to toss to me all I want, it’s my birthday, no take backs!”


	23. Fanart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place somewhere in "Don't Blink You'll Miss It" before Midorima and Takao start dating. The request was for Takao discovering the fanart that Yamamoto mentioned =D

“I got a really, really good 6/10 picture after the last game!”

“Oooh, let me see! And also, I think you mean 10/6.”

“No way!! 6/10 just makes _sense_ , anyway, see?”

“Oh gosh, send me the pic! _Please._ ”

Takao will admit that he rarely pays attention to what the girls in his class are talking about, largely because he rarely pays attention to the girls in his class. Not that there’s anything wrong with girls, but since he’s not interested in them romantically and he doesn’t have time to be interested in them platonically (basketball club effectively killing his social life), there’s not much point.

This conversation sticks out to him only because it sounds like they’re talking about math. And he really has no idea why the girls would be giggling so much about math.

*

Takao doesn’t start to figure things out until the next basketball game, when he notices an unusual amount of girls from their school cheering for him whenever he has the ball. Even then, it takes a few of the other First Years grumbling on the bench for him to take note—“Must be nice to have girls cheering for you just because you’re a starter” and “It’s such a waste for them to cheer for Takao”—since it _is_ kind of wasted on him, he does feel a little guilty. (To the girls, that is, not to the grumblers. The grumblers need to practice more anyway if they want to be starters). He’s wondering if he needs to be more overt with how gay he is during school hours just so the girls know they’re wasting their time—until he notices the girls only cheer when he passes to a particular person.

That is, when he passes to Midorima.

*

He verifies his hunch by throwing his arm around Midorima’s neck during half-time. Midorima pulls away like a startled cat and the girls scream louder than they were during the game.

*

Mostly, he takes a sort of perverse delight in the “10/6”  vs. “6/10” debate. Since he’s somewhat, mildly, just the tiniest bit, also interested in the idea of him and Midorima as a couple, he can’t quite say that it bothers him that the girls in their class have also come to that conclusion. Yamamoto did warn him that this was a thing; it’s Takao’s own fault for not taking that seriously.

Yamamoto, Takao recalls, also mentioned _fanart,_ and this seems like a thing he needs to verify.

*

“Oh wow, OK, that is an impressive level of detail regarding my penis.”

The girl shrieks and flails, which gives Takao the advantage to snatch the drawing away from her.

“Oh God, please give that back, oh my God,” the girl buries her face into her hands. “This is a nightmare, please tell me I’m dreaming.”

“It’s OK,” Takao tries to soothe, mostly because he feels a little bad for her. She looks like she might pass out from mortification, and he figures it had been a little unfair of him to sneak up on her. But then he thinks about how Yamamoto had been deeply uncomfortable with fujoshi culture and feels the need to amend, “Well, OK, so, most gay guys would probably not be comfortable with you drawing naked pictures of them and their classmate, so maybe you should tone that impulse down; but not me, I grew up in a family of women and I thrive on dysfunction anyhow…”

“You mean you’re actually gay?!” she yelps.

“Uhh, yeah? You didn’t know?”

“Oh my god, please kill me now,” she says, burying her hands again. “I am so, so, so sorry, I didn’t know, I feel like—oh God.”

“Wait, wait, it’s only OK to draw naked pictures of me and my friend if we’re both straight?” Takao frowns. “What exactly is the logic behind that one?”

“It is!” the girl wails. “Now I feel bad! I wouldn’t have agreed to work on the doujinshi if I’d known you were actually gay!”

“There’s a doujinshi?” Takao exclaims gleefully.

“…No, no there’s not, what doujinshi? Ah ha ha ha, what? _Ohdeargodpleasekillme._ ” She tries to grab the picture out of Takao’s hands but he dodges easily.

“OK, we’re laying down some ground rules,” Takao says, still filled with delight. “First, Shin—that is, Midorima, can’t ever, ever know about this, got it? He is much more the delicate type than I am, and I don’t think his poor tender heart would survive the knowledge.”

“After this, I am probably jumping off a bridge, you will never see me again,” the girl says, quite seriously.

“No, no, Megumi-san, right? I need you as my ambassador to the shippers, you can’t jump off a bridge now.”

“I really want to die now,” Megumi groans.

“Rule two, I get to see the doujinshi. And I’m keeping this.” It’s actually a really well-drawn picture. Of him and Midorima. Naked. And Embracing.

“Are you sure you can’t just kill me?” Megumi begs.

“Nope. Also, I heard mention of pictures, and I’m going to insist I see those.”

 


	24. Masaomi and Youji in college snippet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of plans for a backstory of Masaomi and Youji in college, and so many headcanons for that story, so when there was some requests for more Masaomi and Youji I wrote this to get some of it out of my system before I start writing that story. So, takes place when they are in college!

“What the—did you hear what that man called you?” Masaomi’s eyebrows furrow, perplexed, as if he was mostly confused but also a little outraged and wasn’t sure which part to fixate on.

Youji takes casually takes a sip of his coffee. “Yes, Masa-chan, that I did.”

“Well, go punch him! Go punch him right in the face!”  
  
“Why are you always trying to get Youji to punch people?” Hinami asks.

“Because he’s so good at it! Youji, that man besmirched your honor! Go kill him!”  
  
“Masa-chan, if I had to punch everyone who called me a whore, I’d be punching everyone on campus, and probably break my hand.”

“What? That doesn’t even make sense? Why do people think you’re a prostitute?”

Youji has to put his coffee cup down, as a slow creeping realization dawns on him and he needs to brace himself through this horror. “You seriously don’t know? Where the hell have you been for the past two years?”

It would be very hard to miss the way Hinami and Shiori both suddenly have to look very intently away from the table. He thinks, perhaps, that both of them are smiling, but that would be very cruel of them, given the situation.

“You can’t seriously expect me to believe people think you’re some kind of ‘Gentleman of the Night’ do you? Are you trolling for johns when I’m not around?”

Youji is glad he’s not drinking coffee anymore, because otherwise he probably would have choked. He knows Masaomi tends to not pay attention to people, but he had no idea he was so far removed from gossip.

“Noooo, not exactly,” Shiori starts, “Everyone is pretty sure Youji is prostituting himself to someone very particular.”

“What? Who?”

No one at the table can quite bring themselves to answer. Which is, all things considered, answer enough, really.

“ _Me?”_ Masaomi sputters. “What the hell? That man seriously thought I’m sleeping with Youji?”

Youji just stares at him. “Dude. Everyone thinks that.”

“What?” Masaomi says, and Youji thinks this is the most confused he has ever seen his friend. He’s never heard Masaomi say “what” so many times in a single conversation. “No, no one could possibly think that. The only one who thinks that is Shiori, and she doesn’t count because she’s a fangirl.”

“I never said I _thought_ you were sleeping with Youji,” Shiori defends hotly. “I only said I thought you _should._ ”  
  
“That is a terrible thing to say, Shi-chan,” Youji says mildly, “I thought you were my friend.”

“I have a manifesto, if you ever want to read it,” Shiori says helpfully.

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

“And you’re _OK_ with people thinking you’re sleeping with me?” Masaomi demands.

Youji shrugs. “People didn’t believe me when I denied it, so I didn’t need see the point in denying it. I only care that Senpai doesn’t believe it. You don’t believe that filthy lie, right Senpai?”

“No,” Hinami says, arching a brow, “Although it _was_ the most reasonable explanation for why you’re living with Masaomi.”

“Wait, we need to back this up considerably,” Masaomi says, “Why does sleeping with me make Youji a prostitute?”

Youji sighs. “Well, see, awhile back, when people started finding out where I lived, they had a habit of asking how I could afford to live in a gigantic flat, when it very evident that I am not, in fact, rich—”

“Because you dress like a homeless peasant, yes, I’ve told you to fix that—”

“—and in a moment of incredibly stupid honesty, I admitted that I was not paying rent,” Youji finishes.

Masaomi stares at him for a second, slackjawed. “So, what, the only obvious conclusion was that you were paying me with sex?”

“Apparently.”

“Wait, I need to work through this,” Masaomi says, putting his head in his hands, “I am so confused. I will never be able to understand the minds of lesser people.” He lifts his head up, “But I’ve had dozens of girlfriends! Girlfriends who have then leaked our sex lives to the news even! Why would I even _need_ to sleep with Youji?”  
  
“It is commonly theorized that you’re looking for a wife,” Shiori says cheerfully, “And Youji-san is your—”

“My _concubine?”_

Youji looks to the sky, almost like a prayer, thinking about somehow he is probably known as “Akashi Masaomi’s concubine” and wondering what it is he did to deserve this fate.

“I have never been so outraged!” Masaomi shouts. “I don’t need to pay people to have sex with me! And if I did I could do better than _Youji._ ”

“Wait, that’s what you’re outraged about?” Hinami asks.

“Do people not understand how rich I am? I could afford a higher class mistress than Youji! Super models! Hollywood actresses! And they think I picked _Youji?_ I have never been so insulted in my life.”

“Yes. I can’t imagine how insulting this must be. For you,” Youji deadpans.

“No, no, see, this is much worse for me, you have nothing to feel insulted about. Clearly, this rumor reflects incredibly well on you.”

Youji raises his brows. “I would love to hear how you figure that.”

“Look at you,” Masaomi waves a hand in his general direction, “You’re not a bad-looking guy, Youji, but you’re a far stretch from drop dead gorgeous—”

“Ah, yes, I’m feeling much less insulted already—”

“—it’s not like anyone would take one look at you and think, ‘ah, that’s one sexy beast right there, I bet he can get by on his looks alone—’”

“Stop, you’re making me blush with all these gushing compliments—”

“—so _clearly_ they’re assuming the sex must be amazing, yeah? If people assume I’m paying you for your services it must be because they think you’re some kind of sex _god._ ”

Youji pauses his retort and considers this. The fact that this was the conclusion Masaomi came to was actually kind of adorable, really, and if they can just get out of the luncheon with him believing that for the rest of the day…

Shiori coughs. “Actually, um, most people assume that you have, you know, really _unique_ needs, of which only Youji can satisfy…”

“WHAT?!”

(“Shi-chan, why do you do this to me? I know it’s fun to wind him up but I have to live with him. If he wakes me up again at three in the morning eating cheeze whiz and ranting about Thomas Edison I’m blaming you.”

“You know, Youji, if you didn’t act so married all the time maybe I wouldn’t have a shipping manifesto.”)

“So he’s WHAT in this scenario? My Dom? Do people think I have a secret sex dungeon?”

“Actually, my favorite theory is that you like to dress as a baby. Or the one where you’re both into Pony play,” Hinami smirks.

“Shut up, I don’t believe you, no one thinks that.”

Hinami shrugs. “It’s you’re own fault people theorize.”

“Way to victim blame, Hinami.”  
  
“No, seriously, it’s because anytime someone asks you two how you met you keep changing the story. And anytime someone asks Youji _why_ he’s living with you, he hedges. If you both just gave a straightforward answer as to how you know each other and why you’re living together, people wouldn’t come to the conclusion Youji was prostituting himself for rent.”

Masaomi opens his mouth, shuts it, and then sniffs and says, “You know what? If I want a live-in concubine, it’s no one’s business what we do behind closed doors and in our sex dungeon. Isn’t that right, Youji?”

“If people start calling me your concubine I’m leaving you for someone richer,” Youji says.


	25. Fujimaki Clan

Part of being in a relationship with Kuroko was accepting the Miracles as a bizarre extended family, and Kagami had long since come to terms with that. It’s only later when he realizes that Kuroko’s family is actually much bigger than he’d originally assumed, and all things considered, it was actually easier dealing with the other Miracles, because then at least there was basketball. Kagami wasn’t quite sure how to handle the rest of Kuroko’s family.

*

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” the Fujimaki daughter yells at the top of her lungs. She is the loudest woman Kagami has ever met, and he simultaneously thinks about how she’d get along really well with Alex, and hopes they never meet. “AFTER ALL THE GRIEF YOU GAVE ME ABOUT ELOPING AND YOU’RE JUST FINE WITH TETSUYA MOVING IN WITH HIS BOYFRIEND?”

“It’s because Tetsuya is the favorite,” the second Fujimaki son, Tadashi, snickers.

“No one is the favorite,” Touko, General Fujimaki’s wife, says, “We love you all equally.”

“IS IT A GENDERED THING?” Sakura continues to shout.

“Probably,” the eldest brother, Hiroki, says, “Tetsuya’s not going to get knocked up and run away shaming the family, now is he?”

“It’s because Kagami-kun _asked_ politely,” General Fujimaki says mildly. “Like a well brought-up young man.” Which makes Kagmai feel slightly guilty, since asking permission had not been his idea (and he still doesn’t quite think he _was_ asking).

“Unlike that good-for-nothing artist you married,” Hiroki says.

“I’m right here,” Sakura’s husband says, “And I’ve been incredibly successful with my art—”

“Yeah, but you still knocked up my sister, didn’t you?” Hiroki says.

“THIS IS SO NOT FAIR,” Sakura says. “TETSUYA HAS IT SO MUCH EASIER.”

“Divine right of the youngest sibling,” Tadashi says.

Kagami is starting to get a headache, and it’s only about half an hour into this ensemble of Fujimaki family members.

*

“You are the tallest man I have ever seen ever,” one of the grandchildren says, staring up at Kagami, wide-eyed. He can’t remember their names—he’s having a hard enough time remembering the adults—and he somewhat feels self-conscious about this statement.

“There are taller people than me,” he feels the need to defend. Clearly, these children have never met Murasakibara.

“Can I measure you in chopsticks?” the boy asks.

Kagami thinks this over and then shrugs, “Sure, go for it.”

*  
“Basketball?” Hiroki says frowning, “That’s not a career.”

Kagami bristles and says, “It’s what I want to do. And anyway, I’m good at it—”

“But we’re a military family,” Hiroki says. “We’ve always gone into the military. Or married military spouses.”

“I DIDN’T,” Sakura says. “I MARRIED A VERY RICH ARTIST.”

“Except for Sakura, who brings shame to her family, daily,” Hiroki says. “If Tetsuya-kun isn’t joining the military, _you_ should.”

“I am not, Hiroki-san,” Kuroko says. “And Kagami-kun doesn’t have to either.”

“NO ONE CARES ABOUT THAT ANYWAY, HIROKI, YOU’RE AN IDIOT.”

“But he has the right build for it and everything,” Hiroki says.

“I’m also built for basketball,” Kagami says, futility, since no one is paying attention.

*

“Oh ho ho, you are even better looking up close.” This very disturbing comment is accompanied by the subsequent squeezing of his biceps by what has got to be the oldest woman alive. “What a nice young man. And so strong! I bet you could pick me up and carry me like it was nothing.”

“Er,” says Kagami. The arm-squeezing intensifies.

“Tetsuya-kun, you have excellent taste.”

“Thank you, Obaa-san.”

“How do you jump like that? Is it hard?” the oldest woman alive asks.

“You’ve seen me jump?” Kagami says, confused.

“Of course, dear, I’ve gone to every game, haven’t I?”

“You did?”

“I particularly liked that Yosen game. Those were some big players! You did so well in that game.” The Fujimaki matriarch pats Kagami on the butt.

*

“Are you the reason Tetsuya was out on his last birthday?” the youngest son asks suspiciously.

“Not _just_ me,” Kagami feels the need to say. “He also spent some time with the Miracles.”

“Still. Not cool, dude, you could have at least invited us.”

_I didn’t know you existed,_ Kagami wants to say, but also feels like he probably shouldn’t say that. He’s still marveling at all these people who surround Kuroko like a warm and gentle light. “So, you… you don’t mind that your dad took him in?”

“No?” Tadashi says, raising his brows. “It made a lot of sense. Tetsuya’s a lot like the old man. Dad always wanted a nice, quiet child who liked to read. In a lot of ways, it’s like Tetsuya was meant to be in this family all along. We were missing a nice, quiet kid.” He claps Kagami on the back, “Hiroki already fulfills our idiot quota, but we never had an athlete, so I guess it’s a good thing you’re around.”

“Thanks?” Kagami says. And then later, “Hey!” once he realizes he’s been insulted.

*

“Your family is…kind of intense,” Kagami says, when they finally get a moment alone. He can still hear the Fujimaki clan laughing and shouting inside, and he thinks this briefly stolen moment alone with Kuroko probably won’t last uninterrupted for long.

“They are,” Kuroko agrees, sounding pleased with himself. “The Fujimaki family is very kind. I had not realized they would want to spend my birthday with me last year. Thank you for agreeing to come with me.”

“Of course I was going to come, idiot,” Kagami says. He thinks about how pleased Kuroko had been last year, when they all gathered to celebrate his birthday. It really _hadn’t_ occurred to him that anyone would want to celebrate this day with him. Of course the Fujimaki family would feel left out. “They clearly all love you a lot. I’m surprised you still…” He trails off. He doesn’t want Kuroko to change his mind, he wants Kuroko to still live with him, but after meeting all these people he’s feeling a little selfish for taking Kuroko all to himself.

“My place is to stand closest to the light. Didn’t Kagami-kun say that?”

Kagami blushes at the memory—he _does_ remember saying that. They hadn’t even known each other for that long. In retrospect, Kagami was probably a goner from the start, when it came to Kuroko.

“But—”

“They are not going anywhere, Kagami-kun. I have come to understand that, now. Bonds do not diminish just because we are separated by space.”  
And Kuroko had a lot of bonds he cherished: the Miracles, Seirin, the people inside. Similarly, Kagami thinks he has a lot of bonds too, all the more so now that he’s with Kuroko.

“Happy Birthday, Kuroko,” Kagami says, leaning close for a quick kiss before anyone can steal them away.

“TETSUYA! TAIGA! STOP MAKING OUT AND EAT CAKE OR YOU WON’T HAVE ANY CAKE LEFT!”

“Thank you, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko says, when Kagami groans as he pulls away. “She is serious about that cake, though. She can eat more than Murasakibara-kun.”

“Better get inside then.” Kagami’s never had a big family before. It’ll take some getting used to, but he figures he’ll like it in the long run.

Assuming there’s still cake left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Combining some prompts for KagaKuro fluff, Kuroko's birthday, and the older Fujimaki children. =D


	26. Yachi, Saeko and Momoi

The most beautiful girl Yachi has ever seen is now talking to Saeko and this is proving to be very bad for Yachi’s health.

*

Momoi Satsuki had come in with the other Miracles to “support Hinata.” The arrival of the other Miracles would have ordinarily been very distracting in and of itself—they are some of the tallest, most scariest people Yachi has ever seen, and she can’t even believe that they’re _here_ watching a _volleyball_ game—except then Momoi came down to introduce herself and Yachi promptly lost all ability to function.

She can’t even believe this incredibly glamorous girl is the same age as her! Momoi has some of the most amazing (and intimidating!) breasts she has ever seen, and now she’s standing next to Saeko, who _also_ has some pretty incredible (and intimidating!) breasts, but Yachi always chocked that up to the power of being an adult. At one point Yachi was sandwiched between them and she almost fainted, not knowing where to look ( _Get ahold of yourself Hitoka, stop thinking about their breasts)_ and she _knows_ she’s red and flustered and everything is terrible. She’s standing next to two gorgeous women and surely, surely everyone is staring at them and wondering what Yachi is doing near these women. Surely, their bodyguards and fans will wreck terrible vengeance upon her just for daring to be near them.

Gosh they smell nice.

( _You are supposed to be watching the gaaaaaaaame._ )

Yachi has no idea what is happening in the game right now. She is a complete failure as a manager.

*

Saeko has an arm flung around Momoi, and Yachi once again envies Saeko’s easy way of instantly making friends with everyone. This, too, was something she thought maybe came with age, but maybe it’s just Saeko. Yachi simultaneously really wants to somehow be involved in this hugging, and also knows that if she ended up in between those two she would probably explode. She even has to take a step back, just to make sure this doesn’t happen, because sometimes it was all she could bear just when Saeko hugged her, she’s sure any sort of contact with Momoi Satsuki would cause all kinds of assassins to come out of the wood works and punish her for touching such a pretty girl.

She really thought she’d built better immunity to pretty girls after all her exposure to Shimizu Kiyoko, but apparently she’s just as bad as ever.

*

“You should give me your phone number,” Momoi says brightly, “So we can exchange manager tips!’

“No!” Yachi bursts out. She is sure it is illegal somewhere for someone like to her to have Momoi Satsuki’s phone number. Surely, there is some kind of police force that monitors who is allowed to have the phone numbers of gorgeous women.  “I mean, basketball and volleyball are completely different! I’m sure I couldn’t help you at all! I don’t even know all that much about being a volleyball manager! You should talk to Kiyoko-senpai, she’s the _real_ manager, she knows everything—”

Momentarily, she pictures Momoi and Kiyoko talking to each other, standing near each other, and loses all ability to word. Momoi, Kiyoko _and_ Saeko would be some kind of gorgeousness power cubed to a dangerous degree. That kind of powerful force could stop wars. Or start them.

“Oh, OK,” Momoi says, drooping slightly then sniffing. She turns her back on Yachi and starts talking to Saeko instead, and Yachi tries to remember how to breathe again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during the "Supporting Hinata" story. @vinteraltus wondered if Momoi ever became friends with Saeko and Yachi. I will say they definitely do become friends eventually! Saeko and Momoi bonded right away, but Momoi walked out of that meeting convinced Yachi hated her and vowing to call her “barely a B Cup” the next time they met. Poor Yachi was just in a crisis of beautiful women. They’ll clear up their misunderstanding at some point, and the probably chat more regularly.


	27. Valentine's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote a short fic for Valentine's Day. Set in some ambiguous time before Kasamatsu and Kise actually start dating, so still with much Kise pining. I try not to think too hard about time lines, though, so who knows exactly when. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!! =D

Kasamatsu Yukio spent the majority of his life being largely indifferent to Valentine’s Day. Having no sisters or female cousins or female childhood friends to give him obligatory chocolate, and being absolutely incapable of holding a conversation with the girls in his class, it never really seemed like a holiday that was worth his attention.

He expects this holiday to be slightly different, only because it’s Kise’s first Valentine’s at Kaijo, and if nothing else, Kasamatsu expects to spend the day thoroughly exhausted with having to deal with Kise and his fanclub.

So it is somewhat of a surprise when he gets up in the morning only to realize that Kise has left for school without him.

*

“I hate this holiday,” Kise says, in dark thunderous tones. Kasamatsu has never heard him speak with such intense loathing.

“Er,” Kasamatsu starts. He’d jokingly said, “Why did you leave to school so early? Were you that eager to get chocolate from your fans?” and he didn’t quite know how to respond to this proclamation.

“This holiday is the worst thing _ever,_ ” Kise continues.

“You have a lot of chocolate, though, right?” Kasamatsu frowns. Because surely this isn’t the same thing as Moriyama’s constant bemoaning of the “wretchedness and cruelty of this day.” Moriyama, like most of the basketball players, never got chocolate. Kasamatsu can already see Kise with his accumulated piles of chocolate.

“That’s not the point!” Kise insists. “The point is, it’s a stupid holiday! It emboldens people to confess! Which is dumb! No one should confess their feelings, ever. Especially not because a holiday told them too.”

“I guess?” Kasamatsu says, seeing some of the logic there but certainly not all of it and also wondering where the heck Kise was coming with all of this.

“Also, it’s completely sexist and unfair. Boys should give chocolate too. Why can’t boys give obligatory chocolate to the people they care about? Why is that not OK? Boys might want to give chocolate to the people in their life they care about.”

“If you want to give chocolate to someone, you should just give chocolate to someone,” Kasamatsu says.

“I don’t want to give chocolate to anyone,” Kise says, pouting.

“You’re not making any sense,” Kasamatsu says.

“This holiday is the worst.”

*

“Were you taking chocolate out of Kasamatsu’s locker this morning?” Moriyama asks.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kise says through gritted teeth.

Some realization flashes across Moriyama’s face, “There were rumors last year of some crazy chick going around threatening people who prepared chocolate for Kasamatsu. I didn’t really believe it at the time…”

“And you don’t believe it now, _right,_ Moriyama- _senpai?_ ” Kise seethes.

“Riiiiight. You know most of that was just obligatory chocolate anyway, you can’t really deny a guy obligatory chocolate on Valentine’s Day, that’s just petty—yeah, fine, fine, you be you.” He backs away at Kise’s glare.

Valentine’s Day is full time work, and Kise resents the hell out of this. It is the dumbest holiday in the world _and he doesn’t even get chocolate from Kasamatsu._ There is no point to this holiday even existing.

*

“It’s just obligatory chocolate,” the women’s basketball captain says. “I’ve known Kasamatsu for these past three years—”

“If it’s just obligatory chocolate, then you don’t _really_ need to give it to him, do you?” Kise says sweetly, while continuing to block her path.

“You can’t seriously object to this, you’ve accepted _dozens_ of chocolate today!”

“Listen, this is war, all of the movies say so,” Kise insists. “Desperate times call for desperate measures. Even obligatory chocolate is a confession of feeling _something_ and I can’t risk it. Also, I will bite off your hand if you keep trying to give him that chocolate.”

“Fine!” She throws her hands up in the air. “God, you are _such_ a child!”

“A child who gets to SLEEP IN THE SAME ROOM as him!” Kise tosses back, because let’s face it, he needs to count his victories where he gets them.

*

Kise flops down on his bed and hates everything. There was nothing like having a whole holiday dedicated to expressing love to really drive in the unrequited nature of his own obsession. And while _yes_ he did see Kuroko’s point (who had been very judgey, during Kise’s guerilla attack last year on Kaijo without anyone knowing it was him thwarting all the chocolate delivery) that his behavior was immoral and depraved and _fine_ he also could see Moriyama’s point that blocking the obligatory chocolate was kind of petty, he _also_ didn’t care. One bit. Because all the chocolate in the world didn’t make up for not getting chocolate from the one person it matters and he hates everything.

Something drops on his chest, causing him to look up and see a bar of chocolate, the kind sold at convenience stores.

“Here,” Kasamatsu says. “I have no idea what’s up with you, but stop being so cranky.”

“Senpai?” Kise says, barely believing what was happening. If any of the other Miracles had the power to shapeshift like he did, he might expect this to be a cruel prank.

“I stopped on my way home to get some chocolate for Mizuki and Ren. I thought about what you said about boys giving obligatory chocolate and I was thinking it’d be pretty sad for those guys to not get anything just because we’re a family of all guys. I figured I’d get some for you and my dad while I was at it.”

“Senpai! Thank you so much! This is amazing! This is the best thing ever!” He stops himself from gushing too much and also from jumping on the other boy. He can be restrained! He can be! He looks down at the chocolate in wonder.

“You’re so weird,” Kasamatsu says, laying down on his own bed. “You’ve gotten chocolate before.”

Kise has to hide his face, so Kasamatsu won’t see his reaction. He’s sure that he must look pathetically in love right now, so he just curls up facing the wall, still clutching the chocolate. _It’s only obligatory chocolate,_ he thinks. But every chocolate was a dangerous sentiment, that’s why he couldn’t let anyone give any to Kasamatsu before.

So this was a feeling, even if it was an obligatory one, and he’ll take what he can get.

Maybe this holiday wasn’t so bad after all.


	28. Luxuries

When the JSDF soldiers bring them back to base, Red can’t help but note the similarities of their old situation with their new. They are surrounded by people with guns and they are kept in close quarters.

“Is this the freedom you so desperately wanted, Black?” he asks the other boy, still angry at the way Black had maneuvered them to this position. “Is this part of your grand plan?”

Black does not reply.

*

“The beds are softer,” Green notes the next morning. They keep together, because that is what they know how to do.

“What a marvelous improvement over our previous situation,” Red says witheringly, causing Green to falter. “Where are Blue and Purple?”

“Asleep,” Pink replies. Red fixes his gaze on her and she just shrugs. “No one told us we had to get up this morning, so they decided not to.”

“They should not need to be _told,_ ” Red says, appalled by this lack of formation. Soldiers got up in the morning and prepared for work; in a new environment where everyone is the enemy, the others should _know better_ than to be so lax with security.

“The food is better here,” Pink says, as if she didn’t hear him at all.

Red sits back, dissatisfied. It is clear that he is going to have to be firm about their new circumstances, otherwise they will forget everything they learned about survival.

*

“Guys, guys, have you had _ice cream?”_ Yellow bounds in their common area holding a box that he enthusiastically drops in front of them.

“I have,” Purple says, and he’s already reaching for the box to grab a handful of wrapped packages.

“It’s amazing!” Yellow says. “Purple, leave some for everyone else.”

“It’s _cold,_ ” Green says, disapprovingly.

“It’s _delicious,”_ Yellow corrects. “Red?”

“No, thank you, I ate already.”

“But this isn’t about eating, it’s dessert! Dessert comes after eating.”

“Calories that are not for nutritious value or sustenance serve no purpose,” Red says.

“More for the rest of us then,” Blue says, who is already taking three.

*

“What is this?” Red says, and he’s trying not to radiate disapproval, but it is hard to maintain his composure, when faced with… _this._

“Television,” Pink says, with a smile.

“Is this an actual program monitoring that weeping woman’s behavior?”

“No, it’s fiction,” Pink says happily. “That means it’s not real.”

He had, in fact, known such things existed, but it bothers him immensely that Pink is so engrossed in this. “You do understand that this is a meaningless waste of your time, 256?” He purposefully reminds her of her designation because she is a Pink Two, and above all Pink Twos valued _information_ and analysis. They did _not_ fill their brains with useless drivel.

“This is not meaningless!” she says hotly. “If I don’t find out who the father of Sumiko’s baby is I’ll _die.”_

“It better be Hirohito,” Yellow says.

“Shut up! The father better be Sano-san or life has no meaning!”

“You might like it, Red, it’s kind of entertaining,” Yellow offers, when Red continues to just stand there.

“I am not interested in being _entertained,_ ” Red replies stiffly.

*

Strangely, the only one who articulates his discontent is the human, Akashi Masaomi.

“I abhor frivolity. Wasting time is humanity’s worst offense,” Masaomi says. “If you are not actively striving to better yourself, advance your legacy, or conquer your enemies, then there’s really no point in existing.”

“Yes, I quite agree, Masaomi-san,” Red says, gratified that at least _someone_ understands, even if he is just a human.

“There are far too many things in the world that enable mankind’s laziness, and it is disgusting,” Masaomi continues. “If there weren’t so many distractions in this world, just think of what the humanity could have accomplished by now.”

“It is not just humanity,” Red says darkly, thinking about the other Projects.

*

“I like basketball, Akashi-kun. I think it is fun.”

They all have names now, and they’re practically human, which is just awful. “If you are only interested in _fun_ then you should not play at all,” Akashi says. “Victory is the most important thing in any pursuit.”

“I disagree,” Kuroko says.

“We will just have to keep playing. Eventually we will learn whose philosophy is the better one,” Akashi says.

*

“I am disappointed in you, Midorima-kun,” Akashi says, frowning. Midorima was usually the one Project Akashi could count on to not be engaged in frivolous pursuits.

Midorima does not look up from the meticulous treatment of his nails. “There is a purpose to this, Akashi. It enhances my performance when shooting a basketball.”

“Right,” Aomine says, rolling his eyes, “ _That’s_ why you need a full-on manicure. Satsuki, what’s _your_ excuse?”

“It is super relaxing and my nails look gorgeous,” Momoi says.

Midorima doesn’t add to this, but he does spread out his hands and admire the finished work when he doesn’t think anyone is looking.

*

Murasakibara, with his ever growing pile of snacks, constant sleeping, binge-watching of TV shows, and hedonistic love of soft things, is a lost cause from the start.

*

“Wait, what did that liar tell you?” Youji demands.

“Youji, don’t call me a liar in front of my son,” Masaomi says.

“He said he _abhors frivolity?”_ Youji repeats incredulously. “No, and no, this guy loves frivolity. This guy practically invented the word.”

“Lies!” Masaomi yelps.

“This guy,” Youji jerks his thumb at Masaomi, “this guy refuses to sleep in anything that is not silk, and will not use bedsheets unless they have _at least_ 1000 thread count. This guy once said, ‘I will not put anything in my mouth that was not fit for gods.’ Which, by the way, was also a lie. This guy won’t—”

“Those aren’t _frivolities,_ those are _luxuries,_ ” Masaomi insists.

“I’m not sure I understand your distinction, Father,” Akashi says.

“Frivolity is anything that wastes time. Luxuries are the divine right of the superior for being best and strongest.”

“Ah. Yes, I see your point,” Akashi says.

“Oh lord,” Youji says, placing a hand over his eyes.

*

Much later, Akashi understands. He doesn’t bring it up with Kuroko until more time passes.

“It was your plan from the start,” he says one day. “Having the JSDF find us. You did have a grand plan.”

“We wouldn’t have survived without allies,” Kuroko says. “And we needed people to help us through this world.”

Akashi considers this, and thinks they _could_ have survived. If they had been on the run from Teiko, and constantly hiding.

But there would have been a lot less luxuries, and never any frivolity, and in the long run, it wouldn’t have been much different than their life in Teiko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I combined prompts for exploring the Miracles discovering the little luxuries in life as well as more exploration on Akashi =D


	29. One of a Kind

Midorima ignores the other boy when he stays for late practice. Instead, he focuses on shooting the ball, over and over again, even past the point when he’s tired.

“Why do you practice so hard?” Takao asks, and Midorima jerks slightly. If he’d been shooting the ball at the time, he might have missed. “You don’t even know if they’ll let you play in a game.”

Midorima doesn’t know what to do with this human. Takao had seen him when he was most vulnerable and had been incredibly kind, and Midorima isn’t sure what to do with either of those things. Every time Takao is nearby, Midorima simultaneously hopes he’ll start talking to him and also dreads it. He wonders what it is called when you want someone close but you also kind of resent their existence in your life. He’s never felt so conflicted about anything before and he hates it.

_Just ignore him,_ Midorima vows. But then Takao moves away, and Midorima’s heart speeds up, and he really doesn’t want him to leave so he says, “There is no point in doing anything unless I put all of my best effort into it.”

Takao smiles, (and Midorima still has no idea what he’s supposed to do with that smile, that smile is far too unreadable and it distresses Midorima greatly), and he says, “How odd. I have a hard time imagining the other Miracles devoting themselves to hard work and effort.”

“Yes, well,” Midorima says, turning away, a familiar bitterness churning in his gut, “They could afford not to.”

*

It is not that there was any one Group that had it easier than the rest. Midorima can recognize that, now. And they were all trying to prove they were Successes, they were all trying to prove that they were worthy enough to live.

It’s just that Midorima never had the luxury of pretending it was any other way. GM - G7283 always knew he was expendable.

*

“You’re easy to make, you know,” his creator says, and she sounds so bored. “Not like the others. You’re replaceable.”

There were four other people who had the same face as him. Two, now. But somehow he suspects maybe there are others he hasn’t seen. Maybe rows and rows of him, all waiting for him to fail and take his place. He’d seen one of the scientists break a microscope once. Then she opened up a closet and there were twenty other microscopes on the shelf.

It was like that, he figures. Other Green Sevens just like him all kept somewhere on a shelf waiting for him to break.

*

“To tell you the truth, this Project Group is boring. I’d rather work on one of the others.”

“Hush, you. You want to be assigned to the Black Fours? Or the Orange Threes? No thank you.”

“But at least _they_ have a challenge. We’ve mastered telekinesis, we’ve got all we’re going to out of this Group.”

“Not quite. We don’t have the best yet. When we have the best, we’ll close it down. Any maybe it’s not as ‘challenging’ as the others, but at the end of the day, at least the Green Sevens work and we have job security.”

“It’s not like they’re going to _fire_ us.”

“Don’t be an idiot. The stuff we’re doing—there’s a whole lot worse that could happen than being fired.”

Green wonders if they know he can hear them. They probably don’t care. Or maybe they think he can’t understand.

But he does understand.

They need the best, so he has to be the best.

(And even if he is the best—that doesn’t mean anything. They can make another just like him. It’s not hard).

*  

When the others start playing games, he thinks, _Ah, how easy they have it._

It must be what Black feels—what Orange and Brown and White all felt—to see the others so confident in their own Success, that they can relax when they’re on a mission.

He is a Success, he’s proven that, but he knows he has to keep proving that, over and over again.

*

“You’re an interesting guy, Shin-chan,” Takao says, taking him out of his memories.

And Midorima just pushes up his glasses, not looking at Takao, as he says, “No, I’m not. I am very boring.”

Takao bursts out laughing, and Midorima doesn’t know what to do with that laugh, anymore than he knew how to handle that smile. “No, you’re definitely not. You’re one of a kind.”

Midorima winces, but he doesn’t think Takao sees. “There are others like me.”

“Shin-chan, I can say with one hundred percent certainty, there is _no one_ else like you.”

Midorima’s heart beats faster for no discernible reason. He wants to believe it, wants _someone_ to believe it, even if he can’t, so he doesn’t correct Takao on that point.

*

Days, months, years, and Takao still believes there’s no one else like Midorima. And because Takao believes it, Midorima starts to believe it too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a birthday fic for a kind anon, who wanted angst with hope, which is kind of all I do =D


	30. 394

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were a lot of requests for BAMF!Hinata, or more of Hinata's time as an assassin, so this happened!

Most of Hinata Shouyou’s life is paved through forgetting. It’s not even as hard as he might have thought. _GM-O394 is dead. Hinata Shouyou is alive._ And it doesn’t matter what’s branded onto his thigh, or what scars he has as a reminder: Hinata Shouyou is alive, GM-O394 is not.

*

It’s easy, really, to forget. Because he’s not jumping, not flying, not doing anything GM-O394 once loved. So he forgets. (He trains himself to forget).

He forgets how to hold a gun.

He forgets how to break a neck.

He forgets how to kill a man.

And really, really, sometimes it’s all too easy to forget that these were all things he once needed to know how to do.

*

Tall people, tall, strong, volleyball players—they intimidate him, and rightly so, whenever he meets them in front of a bathroom. Not that he’d ever back down; but they make him nervous, because he’s not GM-O394 when he meets them, he’s Hinata.

*

Those times when he hit Kageyama—it was Hinata hitting Kageyama, just an ordinary human boy, hitting like an ordinary human boy would.

It’s amazing to think even when he’s angry, even when he’s attacking someone, he’s not _attacking_ someone. He’s reacting just the way he should be: like someone who was never trained how to hurt people, and if that’s not a sign about who he really is, then he doesn’t know what would be.

*

It’s not 394 who defends Kiyoko from the Johzenji either, although it could have been. That had all been Hinata—getting in between them, being pushed aside, jumping in front of them—that was First Year Hinata Shouyou, trying to help out his beloved Third Year manager, all the while thinking that Tanaka or Nishinoya could have done a better job.

There’s a second, just the tiniest of moments, when Kiyoko looks a little scared by all these strange men crowding her and for the tiniest breath there’s that possibility of danger because the Karasuno students don’t know these guys are and maybe they’re the kind of people who might hurt a girl and in that small, very quick, can’t even really call it a second, 394 is lurking beneath the surface of Hinata’s skin. _Blow to the chin, blow to the gut, knock to the ground, grab Kiyoko, fly._

But these students, they’re interested in Hinata Shouyou, the volleyball player. So it’s the volleyball player who talks back. And when Kiyoko thanks him later, it’s really easy to forget just how close he’d been to 394.

*

He almost always dreams about flying, but sometimes those dreams are memories and they’re more like nightmares.

Sometimes, he dreams about being on the alert—and he has to see everything, everything, because if he misses anything and doesn’t provide the right warning in time, his Generation could die. He has to be more aware than any of them, he has to be prepared for anything, he has to move quickly, he has to move before there’s ever any danger because if he doesn’t move fast it’ll be too late and it’s his job to catch things before it’s too late.

It’s his job to say, _there he is, there’s the man who has to die._

It’s his job to say, _leave now or we’ll all die._

And it’s his job to get rid of any unexpected threat because the others are too far away and _no one ever remembers to look up_ so they don’t see him coming.

He’s not actually good at his job. He does it. But there’s a reason he was scrapped.

When he wakes up from those dreams it’s easy to treat them as dreams. Just dreams. Over when the morning comes. Not something he ever has to think about again.

Forget it ever happened.

*

And his classmates in Karasuno, and his teammates in the volleyball club, and his teachers and his parents and his boyfriend—they all forget too because it’s easy. Hinata Shouyou told the world he was genetically designed in a lab and then he went to school the next day like it never happened. People would tease him but they didn’t put it together, not really. They couldn’t add _Miracle_ and _Hinata Shouyou_ and make it equal _threat_ and that’s fine. He’s not a threat. He’s not even a Miracle, not really.

(GM-O394 is dead. Hinata Shouyou is not).

*

The people who play against him remember, which is something Hinata finds out on accident.

It’s the bathroom again, of course it’s the bathroom, and he’s in a stall and he doesn’t expect to overhear the Aoba Josai players talking to one another after their practice game but he does.

“You know how sometimes that shrimp just moves when you don’t expect him to and he spikes the ball, and then he just kinda gets that aura like he might actually kill you?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s a lot more terrifying now that you know he could probably actually kill you, isn’t it?”

“Seriously.”

Hinata has to hide in the bathroom until they leave. It’s a weird sort of disconnect, because he didn’t know that’s how he comes across on a volleyball court, and also he’s pretty sure he was never so terrifying when he was an assassin.

(He was a very bad assassin).

*

At some point, when they’re kissing, Kageyama finds his scars. (They’re small and unobtrusive for the most part, it would be easy to think they’re the products of a normal, clumsy childhood, except by now Kageyama knows Hinata didn’t have a normal childhood).

The fascinating thing about Kageyama is that he doesn’t ask. From the get go, he knows who Hinata Shouyou is, and nothing else really matters.

*

But later, after Kageyama meets Kuroko Tetsuya a few times, he does ask, but it’s not the question Hinata is expecting.

“Do you ever think you’ll be him again?”

It pleases him, for some strange reason, that Kageyama recognizes Hinata isn’t that person anymore. He thinks about the question, remembers briefly what 394 feels like under his skin and says, “Might.” He shrugs. “If I had a reason.”

Kageyama accepts this, and then they don’t talk about it, and it’s like they’ve both forgotten, even if they haven’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This volume started with Hinata so I thought it was fitting to end it with Hinata =D
> 
> I am only closing off this one, for various reasons (largely, because I like closing off stories, but also because I slightly changed how I answer prompts, so I thought I would go stick those in another volume, which I am about to start posting any minute now! So! This is not the end!!) but thanks for reading these stories =D Thank you all so much!!


End file.
